Orders & Risk
Weekend gap
The difference between Friday's close and Sunday/Monday's open, caused by news while the market was shut. Price can open beyond your stop loss, so the trade fills at the first available price — worse than the level you set.
Also called: gap risk, weekend gap risk
In practice
You hold a long EUR/USD over the weekend with a stop at 1.1050. Friday closes at 1.1060. Over the weekend a shock headline sends the open to 1.1020, and your stop fills there — 30 pips below the level you set, doubling your planned loss.
Why it matters for traders
The weekend gap is one of the few events that can break a stop loss, turning a defined risk into an unknown one. Day traders sidestep it by being flat by Friday close; swing traders who hold over the weekend either reduce size or accept that the worst-case loss is larger than the stop distance suggests.
Common pitfall
Traders hold positions over the weekend with stops as if the market were continuous, forgetting price opens wherever the news takes it — often beyond the stop. The pitfall is treating a weekend as a normal pause. Either be flat by Friday close, or reduce size and widen your true-risk assumption to reflect that the worst case is larger than the stop distance. Never let a weekend gap be the first time you think about it.
Lessons that use this term
- Weekend gap risk
Why a stop loss does not protect you between Friday's close and Sunday's open.
Related terms
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