Gap Up Candlestick Pattern: The Gap That Started AMD's 2026 Run and Micron's 2025 Run

On April 8, 2026, the morning after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, AMD opened 4.8% higher and never traded back to the previous day's high. Bought at that close with a stop under the gap day's low, the trade risked 2.0%. By June 30, 2026 the stock was up 150.6%, at a record close.

On August 7, 2025, Micron gapped up after President Trump exempted chipmakers building in the US from a 100% tariff on chips. That trade risked 1.0%. By January 29, 2026 Micron was up 289.6%, also at a record close.

A gap up is buyers paying up before the market opens, and a gap that holds says they meant it. Neither stock has traded back into its gap since. Here is how to read a gap up, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What the gap up did#

The $10,000 and reward rows use the 120-session numbers. Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The gap up in one table#

A gap up is a day whose whole range, its low included, sits above the prior day's high. Nothing traded in between, so the chart shows empty space between the two candles: the gap.

These are the rules the VCP Scanner terminal uses to name a gap up on a daily chart.

A gap that opens high and then trades back into the prior day's range is not a gap up, however big the open was. Both of these gap days closed under their opens, AMD's by 30 cents and Micron's by 2.27, and neither filled its gap.

The gap up and its look-alikes#

A bullish kicker is often a gap up too, and the terminal names the kicker first. A gap day with a long green body and no shadows is also a bullish marubozu, and then the terminal names the gap up first. AMD's gap day was also a doji, which the inspector lists under Also. Micron's had no other name.

Example 1: AMD on the Iran ceasefire, Apr 8, 2026#

Open AMD in the VCP Scanner terminal →

The US and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire the evening before, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen. Oil fell about 15% and the S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Stocks pulled back from their highs in the final hour, and AMD closed under its open, but its low of 227.09 stayed 4.99 above the prior day's high.

What followed:

• Next session (Apr 9): closed at 236.64, up 2.1%, its first close above the gap day's high of 234.00. Its low that day, 230.91, is the lowest AMD has traded since.
• Apr 16, 2026: 278.26, a record close, six sessions after the gap.
• Ten sessions later (Apr 22): 303.46, +30.9%.
• Jun 30, 2026: 580.91, +150.6%, a record close.
• Sep 25, 2026: 630.63, +172.0%, another record close. That is 84.3 times the 4.73 risked on each share.
• The gap was never filled. On Nov 6, 2026 AMD closed at 449.04, 93.7% above the gap day's close.

Two later gaps up did about a quarter of the climb to June 30: Apr 24, and May 6, the morning after AMD's first-quarter report. Three 5% gaps down gave most of that back along the way.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 105 shares, about $24,341. At the Sep 25, 2026 close those shares were up $41,875.

Example 2: Micron (MU) on the chip tariff exemption, Aug 7, 2025#

Open MU in the VCP Scanner terminal →

The evening before, President Trump said imported chips would face a tariff of about 100%, with an exemption for companies building in the US. Micron, which had committed to large US factory investments, opened 4.9% higher. It gave back 2.27 from its open, but its low stayed 1.83 above the prior day's high.

What followed:

• Next session (Aug 8): closed at 118.89, up 6.3%, its first close above the gap day's high of 115.28. Its low that day, 111.67, is the lowest Micron has traded since.
• Ten sessions later (Aug 21): 115.79, +3.5%.
• Sep 12, 2025: 157.23, its first record close since June 2024.
• Oct 29, 2025: 226.63, +102.6%, a record close.
• Jan 29, 2026: 435.79, +289.6%, another record close. That is 299.9 times the 1.08 risked on each share.
• The gap was never filled. On Nov 6, 2026 Micron closed at 690.00, 516.8% above the gap day's close.

Three 5% gaps did about a fifth of the climb to Oct 29. Over the 120 sessions, the gaps were about a sixth, the biggest the Dec 18 earnings gap.

With $500 at risk, the 1.08 stop sized the trade at 462 shares, about $51,684. A tight stop makes a big position. At the Jan 29, 2026 close those shares were up $149,651.

Where a gap up counts: key levels#

A gap up from a level is a breakaway from that level. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default and keeps the gap ups at one of these:

Neither example sat on one of these levels. To see gap ups like them, turn Only at a key level off.

Micron was in Stage 2, Stan Weinstein's advancing stage, where the stock trades above a rising 30-week average. AMD was in Stage 3, the topping stage, five months after its October 2025 record. Both gaps started the next leg up.

How to trade a gap up#

1. Find the gap. Most come on news: an earnings report, a forecast, a policy change, a market-wide move. AMD's came on the ceasefire, Micron's on the tariff exemption.
2. Check that it held. The gap day's low must stay above the prior day's high. A big open that trades back into the prior range is no gap up.
3. Choose your entry. Some traders buy the gap day's close. Others wait for a close above its high. AMD and Micron both gave that close the next session.
4. Put the stop under the gap day's low. The terminal draws it there. If price trades back into the gap, the gap has failed and you are out.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (entry − stop). With $500 at risk on AMD: 500 ÷ (231.82 − 227.09) = 105 shares.

Expect a slow start sometimes: ten sessions after its gap, Micron was up only 3.5%.

Find gap ups on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example AMD or MU.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Gap up.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every gap up on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest gap up. A dot marks each one under its low, and the selected one shows its stop on the price scale.
• The inspector lists the close, stop, risk to stop, level, volume and stage, and the bar's other names under Also. Walk through the others with the ← and → keys.
• Mark the ones you care about with the drawing tools. The arrows in the charts above are the Arrow Marker (Alt+A): click where the arrow starts, then click the candle.

Candles are free, on daily, weekly and monthly charts.

Bottom line#

• A gap up is a day whose whole range sits above the prior day's high. The gap holding is the signal, not the gap day's colour.
• AMD's on the April 2026 ceasefire and Micron's on the August 2025 tariff exemption risked 2.0% and 1.0%. AMD rose 150.6% within 60 sessions, Micron 289.6% within 120.
• The gap day's low is the stop. It defines your risk before you take the trade.

Data: VCPScanner daily market data through Nov 6, 2026, split-adjusted. The examples are for education, not recommendations.