What is a gap fill in trading?
In one line: A gap fill is when price moves back through an empty space on the chart, a gap, and reaches the previous candle's close again.
What it looks like
A Gap is an empty space between two candles. One day closes at one price. The next day opens far away. Nothing traded in between.
A gap fill is price coming back to close that space.
A simple example
A stock closes Monday at $100. Good news comes out overnight. Tuesday it opens at $104. That's a $4 gap up.
- On Tuesday afternoon price slides to $102. Half the gap is closed. That's a partial fill.
- On Thursday it trades at $100 again. The gap is filled.
- Or it never comes back, and climbs to $112. The gap stays open. That happens too.
Gap downs work the same way in reverse.
Why people watch it
The level where the gap started is often a place price reacts. Some traders who missed the move wait there. Some who sold early buy back there. So the old close can act like Support or Resistance.
In our method, the gap level is just one more place price may turn around. We still want the bigger chart to agree, and a candle body closing past the level, not just a poke. Gaps on stocks and futures are covered in gap trading explained. Forex and futures weekend gaps have their own guide: weekend gaps explained.
A common mistake
Believing "all gaps get filled." Some fill in an hour. Some take months. Some never fill. A big gap on strong news can be the start of a new trend. Betting against it with no stop can mean a long, painful wait.
If you trade toward a gap fill, decide your stop first. Ask: "Where would I be wrong?" Then size the trade from that.
Questions
Do all gaps get filled?
No. Many get filled at some point, but there's no rule that says they must, or how soon. Treat the gap level as a place to watch, not a promise.
What is a partial gap fill?
When price moves back into the gap but doesn't reach the old close. For example, a $4 gap where price comes back $2.
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