Gap-and-go retest
This intraday NIFTY futures strategy trades only on gap days, and only in the gap's direction. When the session opens above yesterday's high, it waits for price to dip back to that high and then buys the first 5-minute close back above it. A gap below yesterday's low is traded the same way on the short side. A tight 0.3% stop and a 1% target frame each trade.How it trades
Results
PRE-BUILT · DEFAULTSWhere it made and lost money
With only 42 trades the evidence is thin, but the pattern is clear in this test. Sessions that opened with a gap down of 0.4% or more lost ₹39,293 over 12 trades, winning just one: the short re-cross below yesterday's low kept failing as price bounced back. Choppy days lost ₹17,349 over 13 trades, as the tight 0.3% stop was hit in the swings. Quieter sessions with a range under 0.75% made ₹14,066 over 19 trades, because a calm retest held long enough to reach 15:15 in profit. Weekly expiry days made ₹29,053 over 10 trades while other days lost ₹36,548, and evenings with India VIX above 14.5 cost ₹17,635.
About this strategy
- Note yesterday's high and low on the near-month NIFTY future; skip the first session after a futures expiry, when those levels belong to the old contract.
- If today opens above yesterday's high, it is a gap-up day; if it opens below yesterday's low, a gap-down day; otherwise there is no trade.
- On a gap-up day, wait for a 5-minute candle to close at or below yesterday's high, then buy one lot when a later candle closes back above it.
- On a gap-down day, wait for a close at or above yesterday's low, then sell when a later candle closes back below it.
- Signals count until 14:30 and only one trade is taken per day.
- Exit at a 0.3% stop, a 1% target, or at 15:15, whichever comes first.
Why traders use it
A gap beyond the previous day's range shows that overnight news has shifted the market's view. If price then tests the old high or low and pushes through again, the level has held as new support or resistance, which many traders read as confirmation that the gap will extend. The tight stop is meant to keep the cost of a failed retest small, while the 1% target aims for a much larger reward.
The year in plain words
From 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 on NIFTY futures with default settings, the rules fired on 42 days and won 16, for a ₹7,495 loss before costs and a profit factor of 0.92. Wins averaged ₹5,284 and losses ₹3,540, but too few trades reached the 1% target (2) while 16 hit the 0.3% stop and 24 drifted to 15:15. June made ₹13,955 and May lost ₹21,575; the deepest drawdown was ₹49,019. After ₹20 per order and bid-ask slippage the loss widens to ₹18,546. The setup lost money in this period.
What the settings do
Risks
- A 0.3% stop on NIFTY futures is narrow enough that ordinary swings can hit it before the move develops.
- With only 42 trades in a year, a handful of outcomes decides the result, so the numbers are noisy.
- Gap days are often news days, when spreads widen and stop fills can be worse than the level.
- The strategy lost money both before and after costs in this test.
Who it suits
Intraday futures traders who want few, rule-based trades tied to gap days, can act on 5-minute closes, and accept long gaps between signals and frequent small stop-outs.
Questions traders ask
What is the gap-and-go retest strategy?
On a day NIFTY opens beyond yesterday's high or low, it waits for price to come back to that level and then trades the re-cross in the gap's direction. The old high becomes support on a gap up, and the old low becomes resistance on a gap down. This version uses 5-minute closes, a 0.3% stop and a 1% target.
Is the gap-and-go strategy profitable on NIFTY futures?
Not in this test. From 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 it lost ₹7,495 before costs and ₹18,546 after ₹20 per order and bid-ask slippage, over 42 trades with a 38% win rate. Past results do not guarantee future ones, in either direction.
How often does it trade?
Only on days NIFTY opens outside the previous day's range and then retests the level. That happened 42 times in the year, and October 2025 had no trades at all.
Why skip the day after futures expiry?
Yesterday's high and low on that day belong to the contract that just expired, while today's price is from the next month, which trades at a different level. Comparing them would create false gaps, so the rules sit out that session.