QQQ fills its gaps less often than the single stocks it holds. About one gap in three came back the same day.
Most QQQ gaps that fill do it before lunch. Of the ones that filled at all, 68.0% were done by noon.
Bigger QQQ gaps filled less often. Gaps of 1% to 2% filled 18.1% of the time.
Share of gaps of 0.5% or more back at the prior close, by time of day, March 2023 to October 2026
| Time | Share of gaps of 0.5% or more back at the prior close, by time of day |
|---|---|
| 9:30 AM | 0.0% |
| 10:00 AM | 6.9% |
| 10:30 AM | 14.9% |
| 11:00 AM | 19.3% |
| 11:30 AM | 21.2% |
| 12:00 PM | 23.4% |
| 12:30 PM | 25.1% |
| 1:00 PM | 27.0% |
| 1:30 PM | 30.0% |
| 2:00 PM | 31.1% |
| 2:30 PM | 32.0% |
| 3:00 PM | 33.1% |
| 3:30 PM | 33.3% |
| 4:00 PM | 34.4% |
What to do with it
If you fade a QQQ gap, plan for it not to fill. Take profit before the prior close, or size the trade so a day that never gets there is an ordinary loss.
A QQQ gap still open at noon is very likely to stay open. Only 14.4% of them filled in the afternoon.
An example day
QQQ on September 24, 2026 was one of the late ones. It opened 0.8% below the prior close and was still open at noon.
It filled on the 12:40 PM candle. Play it from the open in Market Replay and see whether you'd still have been in the trade.
| QQQ gap size | Gaps | Filled by 10:30 AM | Filled by noon | Filled by the close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% to 1% | 227 | 21.1% | 31.7% | 44.1% |
| 1% to 2% | 116 | 3.4% | 8.6% | 18.1% |
| 2% or more | 20 | 10.0% | 15.0% | 20.0% |
| 0.5% or more | 363 | 14.9% | 23.4% | 34.4% |
How we counted
Regular-hours 5-minute bars for SPY, QQQ, IWM, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia from March 2023 to October 2026, half days left out. The gap is the first trade of the session against the prior session's last trade, and it counts as filled when price traded back to that prior close in the same session. A gap that filled on a later day counts as not filled here. Prices are TraderPier's own trade data, as traded and not adjusted, and Nvidia's June 2024 split day is left out. These are seven large names that mostly rose over this stretch, so smaller stocks may behave differently.
Questions
Does QQQ always fill its gap?
No. Of QQQ gaps of 0.5% or more, 65.6% never got back to the prior close the same day.
How often does QQQ fill its gap in the first hour?
QQQ gaps of 0.5% or more filled in the first hour 14.9% of the time.
Does this count gaps that fill days later?
No. Only the same session counts, so a gap that filled the next week shows up here as not filled.