Gap (Price Gap)

A gap is a jump in a stock's price between one trading day and the next, with no trades happening in between. You'll see it on a price chart as a literal blank space—the closing price one day doesn't connect to the opening price the next day. Gaps matter because they often signal something important happened: earnings news, a major announcement, or broad market movement overnight. They can create trading opportunities or risks, since gaps sometimes "fill" (the price returns to close that gap) or signal a real shift in where the stock should trade. For example, if TechCorp closes at $50 on Friday but opens at $55 on Monday after announcing a big partnership, that $5 jump is a gap.