FGUR
▲ Bullish
Streaming Alert (Scanner)
False Gap Up Retracement Alert (FGUR)
By Daniel Mirkin, CEO, Trade Ideas. Updated October 2026.
Find gap up stocks that start to fill, then resume the gap direction, in real time, with Trade Ideas Streaming Alerts (Scanner). A false gap up retracement is when a stock gaps up, partly fills the gap, then turns and continues above the open in the gap's direction.
Stocks moving off the open.
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Streaming Alerts show a false gap up retracement the moment price pushes back above the open.
How Trade Ideas finds it: by default, the false gap up retracement alert occurs when the price continues above the open by a sufficient margin for the first time. See Trade Ideas plans and pricing to run it live.
What is a false gap up retracement?
A false gap up retracement is a gap up that starts to fill, stops partway, and then turns back up above the open. The early pullback turned out to be a fake-out.
Trade Ideas requires a big enough gap and a partial fill before the alert can fire. If price goes straight up, or fills all the way to the close, there is no alert.
How a false gap up retracement forms
Gap up
The stock opens well above yesterday's close.
Partial fill
Price slips back toward the close but does not get there.
Back through the open
Price climbs above the open by enough to count. That is the alert.
How traders use it
Step 1: Let the Trade Ideas alert find it
Turn on the False Gap Up Retracement alert (FGUR). It does the bookkeeping of gap size, fill and open for you. See it live in the Web Dashboard.
Step 2: Wait for the trigger
Trader tip
The move back above the open is the trigger. Some traders also want it to clear the morning high.
Step 3: Entry
Gap-and-go traders often buy that push, using the partial fill low as a reference.
Step 4: Exit
Below the low of the pullback is a common stop. Many traders do it this way, but it is not a recommendation.
Tips
- A shallow partial fill shows stronger buyers.
- Pair with relative volume so you see stocks people are trading.
- Early in the session these moves can be fast. Plan size ahead.
- The downside version is False Gap Down Retracement (FGDR).
Past results, including backtests, are not indicative of future results.
How the False Gap Up Retracement alert works
This alert occurs when a stock gaps up, starts to fill the gap, but retraces its steps and continues in the original direction of the gap.
Key point
A false gap up retracement alert occurs when the price continues above the open by a sufficient margin for the first time. In order to have an alert, there must have been a sufficiently large gap between the close and the open, and the price must have partially filled that gap. If the price immediately moves away from the close price (continuing in the direction of the gap), if the price crosses the close price (overfilling the gap), or if the gap was too small, there can be no alert.
Normally each stock can have no more than one of these alerts per day. However, if the exchange reports a correction to a bad print, it is possible to see more.
Default settings
By default, the false gap up retracement alert occurs when the price continues above the open by a sufficient margin for the first time.
Custom settings
Settings
For 'False Gap Up Retracement' alerts, you have the option to use an alert specific filter. This filter is located immediately to the right of the corresponding alert and is always optional. You can decide to leave it blank if you want to receive more alerts, or you can fill it in to restrict the number of alerts you receive. This filter allows you to specify the quality of the alert. When you set a higher number for this filter, you are telling the alerts server to display only alerts that meet a higher quality standard, resulting in fewer alerts being shown.
When setting an alert for 'False Gap Up Retracement', the user can filter the alerts by the percentage of the gap which was filled.
Example
For example, assume a stock closes at $10, then opens the next day at $11. It gapped up $1.00. Assume, as soon as it opens, the price drops. Eventually the price goes down as low as $10.40. Then the price goes back up to $11.05, to cause a False gap up retracement alert. The price went down $0.60 and the gap was $1.00, so the gap was 60% filled. If the user set this filter to 60 or less, he will see the alert. If he set this filter to a higher value, he will not see the alert.
Note: The minimum gap size and the threshold for continuing the gap are automatically determined by the alerts server. These values are different for each stock, and are chosen to avoid reporting noise. The alert describes a horseshoe shape, as shown in the icon. This setting allows the user to set the minimum height of the horseshoe.
What the alert shows you
Key point
The description of the alert will report the percentage of the gap which was filled.
Add the quality column to a scan using the 'False Gap Up Retracement' alert to see the percentage of gap closure.
Related alerts
Filters to pair with the False Gap Up Retracement alert
Categories
FAQ
Which gap up stocks are holding and continuing today?
Turn on the False Gap Up Retracement alert (FGUR) in Trade Ideas Streaming Alerts. By default, the false gap up retracement alert occurs when the price continues above the open by a sufficient margin for the first time.
What is the False Gap Up Retracement alert?
A false gap up retracement is when a stock gaps up, partly fills the gap, then turns and continues above the open in the gap's direction.
How do I see fewer, higher-quality False Gap Up Retracement alerts?
Use the optional alert-specific filter immediately to the right of the alert. A higher number tells the alerts server to show only higher-quality alerts, so fewer appear. Leave it blank to see more.
What is the opposite of the False Gap Up Retracement alert?
Why is it called a false retracement?
The stock looked like it was filling its gap, but the fill stopped and price went back the way it gapped.
What if the stock fills the whole gap?
Then FGUR will not fire. A full fill and cross of the close is a gap up reversal instead.
Does FGUR fire on every gap up?
No. The gap has to be large enough and there has to be a partial fill first.
Is FGUR a gap-and-go setup?
Many traders use it that way, as a sign the gap is holding.