AAPL: What does a gap fill actually mean?Apple Inc.BATS:AAPLInvestradeThe purple rectangle marks an opening gap down from late July into August. Price later returns to the previous close, completing the marked fill. The box records that historical journey; it does not establish what price must do next. Define the gap before drawing it This example uses a close-to-open definition: the previous regular session’s closing price compared with the next regular session’s opening price. The box spans those two prices and extends to the first later revisit of the previous close. For a gap down, the prior close is the upper boundary and the following open is the lower boundary. This differs from a full range gap, which requires separation between adjacent candles’ high–low ranges. Why a gap-down candle can be green Candle color compares that day’s close with its own open. A session can open below yesterday’s close, then rise during the day and produce a green candle. The overnight gap and the candle’s body measure different intervals. In the highlighted AAPL example, the opening gap is followed by weeks of trading at lower prices. Price later advances through the shaded interval and reaches its upper edge in September. The label “later filled” describes that completed event. What a completed fill tells you For this definition, a fill means price has traded back to the pre-gap close. An intraday touch is sufficient; a daily close at that level is not required. The completed fill does not turn the box into guaranteed support, predict a reversal, or establish that every gap eventually fills. Price can subsequently trade above or below a filled zone without undoing the historical event. Try it Pick an opening gap on a regular-session daily chart. Record the previous close and following open, then mark the first revisit of the previous close, if one appears. Keep the gap definition consistent and distinguish a partial retracement from a full fill. Follow @Investrade for more Chart Basics.