The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has ended the trading week on a rather flat note. At the closing bell, the ASX 200 was up, but only just, having gained 0.11% to finish on 7,394 points.
So let's take a look at some of the ASX 200 shares that are being most heavily traded today.
3 ASX 200 shares most heavily traded today
We have a rather unusual situation today, with all 3 top trading shares being ASX gold miners:
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
Gold miner Northern Star is our first ASX 200 share to look at today. A total of 18.95 million Northern Star shares swapped hands today. This is almost certainly the result of the Northern Star share price, which finished down a nasty 6.23% to $10.09 a share.
This move looks to be a combination of reaction to yesterday's quarterly update, the sale of mining assets (more on that later), as well as negative coverage from a couple of brokers. My Fool colleague Aaron discussed these factors in detail this morning.
Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR)
Silver Lake, a fellow gold miner, is our next ASX 200 share today. A hefty 21.12 million Silver Lake shares were traded today.
Silver Lake seems to have been caught up in the woes of the ASX gold mining sector today, and ended the session down a substantial 8.5% to $1.61 a share. This company has a quarterly report of its own to blame here, it seems.
Apparently, investors weren't too impressed with the gold sales volume the company managed over the period in question.
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)
Bucking the ASX 200 gold miner trend today is Evolution, which is also our most traded ASX 200 share today. Unlike the previous two miners, Evolution finished up a healthy 4.42% today to $4.25. This saw an impressive 23.03 million shares change hands on Friday.
This goodwill seems to be stemming from the completion of Evolution's $400 million institutional share placement that is going towards the acquisition of some of Northern Star's mines. Clearly, the market thinks Northern Star's losses are Evolution's gains here.
