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POC in trading: meaning

POC means Point of Control: in a volume profile it is the level with the most volume in the selected profile; in a TPO profile it has the greatest time presence.

In plain language

POC stands for Point of Control, the level with the greatest concentration of activity inside a defined profile.

Volume POC and TPO POC

In a volume profile, POC is the level or bin with the highest traded volume. In a TPO profile it is the level visited in the largest number of time intervals. The two may coincide, but they measure different quantities.

It depends on settings

Period, session, data source, volume type, ticks per row, and aggregation determine the result. A developing POC can move while the profile remains open; a completed-session POC is historical for that configuration.

What it does not say

POC describes where activity concentrated, not why it occurred. POC is not automatically a magnet, support, resistance, or price forecast. Any operational use requires separate rules and validation.

Sources

Volume profile · Imbalance · VWAP