A stock gaps up on a catalyst and holds instead of fading. Learn the confirmation and the common failure mode.
A gap-and-go is a large opening gap on news where the first candles close green and hold above the open — the “go” confirmation. It is a momentum setup that lives or dies in the first minutes.
Most gaps fade: price gives back the gap as early buyers take profit. That is exactly why the measured hold rate matters — the edge, if any, is in distinguishing a gap that holds from one that fills. Never assume the gap continues just because it’s big.
Volume (is real demand behind the gap?), the catalyst’s quality, and whether early candles hold the open. Then size against the failure level — usually a drop back below the opening range.