At a glance
The short version
A NAS100 candle shows where price went. The footprint shows where NAS100 was actually traded: the volume at each price inside the candle, the heaviest level (its POC), and whether a burst of volume moved price or got absorbed. In CRTLAB it sits beside your NAS100 replay and builds live, so you read it before the next candle tells you the answer.
Where the NAS100 volume comes from
NAS100's volume is the real traded volume of CME E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ), minute by minute — not tick counts. Each 1-minute bar's volume is spread across the prices that minute traded (5-minute bars feed the 4H footprint, 15-minute bars the daily), which is how the per-price rows are built.
It is a volume-at-price footprint: no bid/ask split, so no delta column. For where business was done — POC, high- and low-volume rows, absorption — it is the real thing.
What NAS100's volume does at the POC (measured)
We measured 1,111 NAS100 trading days since 2022. Price came back to the previous day's POC on 70.6% of 914 days — and to a level the same distance on the other side on 67.6%. On NAS100, as on every market we tested (67.7% against 67.1% pooled), the POC is close, not magnetic.
What does hold: a POC price never returned to stays live. A "naked" NAS100 POC was reached within 5 days 53.8% of the time and within 20 days 74.7%. The day closed inside its own value area on 65.2% of days.
| NAS100 | Days | Back to prior POC | Same-distance control | Naked POC within 20 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAS100 | 1,111 | 70.6% | 67.6% | 74.7% |
| Every market | 13,754 | 67.7% | 67.1% | 75.2% |
When to watch the NAS100 footprint
NAS100's day does its business in the New York morning: between 08:00 and 12:00 New York it printed the day's high on 28.3% and the low on 30.2% of 2,440 days. The London kill zone (02:00–05:00) printed one of the two on 13.5%. That is where a 1H footprint candle with heavy volume and a small body at a prior level is worth a decision.
Replay a 15-minute chart with the 4H footprint beside it. When a candle marks absorption, log your call — reversal or pause — before you step forward. A hundred of those is a real sample.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free NAS100 footprint chart?
CRTLAB is free to try. You get the NAS100 footprint, with every tool the product has, for your first 10,000 candles of replay — roughly two hours of stepping through a chart, no card needed. After the sample, unlimited replay is $14.99 a month, cancel any time. The footprint, volume profile and every other tool are on from the first candle.
Where does CRTLAB's NAS100 volume come from?
CME E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ): real exchange-traded volume, minute by minute.
Does the NAS100 footprint show delta?
No. It is volume at price — per-price volume, each candle's POC and absorption — without a buyer/seller split.
Does price return to NAS100's previous day POC?
On 70.6% of 914 NAS100 days, against 67.6% for a level the same distance on the other side. Close, not magnetic.