2018 has come and gapped and gapped and then gapped some more.

It’s been said that all gaps fill, if ever. I think it might have been Art Chasin who said it. It’s true in a way as most gaps historically fill, but some never do or stay open for many years.

Things become a bit unusual when much of price “discovery” is driven by overnight gap action.

Case in point here’s the $SPY in 2018 so far:

I’ve seen gap ups to the beginning of a year, but I don’t recall ever seeing 4 in a row, especially with no effort to even fill them.

But then gap ups and/or open ramps have now become the prime modus operandi of markets. Here’s the last 8 days:

But multiple gaps are not new, but an exorbitant of gaps that never fill are.

For further context here’s the $DIA, the ETF tracking the $DJIA since last summer:

Some gaps have filled along the way, but the majority are wide open as you can see. And there are even more going back to early 2017.

Makes me feel old 🙂

I’m so old I remember gap fills.

— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) January 5, 2018

But hey, maybe it’s different this time. Welcome to gap land.