The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a pretty disappointing day today, finishing down around 0.55% to 7,486 points.
But rather than crying over spilled milk, let's instead check out the ASX 200 shares that topped the trading volume charts this Thursday
3 of the most traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
ASX 200 mining company Whitehaven Coal is our first share to check out today. This Thursday has seen an impressive 13.50 million Whitehaven shares change hands. There is no recent news or announcements out of the company this week.
However, the Whitehaven share price has been on fire lately. Not only is the Whitehaven share price up a healthy 1.14% today, but it's also rocketed around 20% over the past week, as my Fool colleague Kerry covered earlier today. It's likely this surge in value is behind the large number of shares trading today.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
ASX 200 diversified miner South32 is next up today. This company has seen a sizeable 17.21 million of its shares swap hands this Thursday. Again, there is no major news out of the company we can point to today for an easy explanation.
But South32 is another company that has recently been on a roll. It closed up 0.31% today to $3.20 a share, but it's also seen gains of roughly 10% over the past week or so.
Combine this with South32's recent penchant for share buybacks, and we have probably found why this company is present on this list today.
Telstra Corproation Ltd (ASX :TLS)
Our most-traded ASX 200 share today goes to telco Telstra. Telstra comes out on top this Thursday with a hefty 20.73 million shares bought and sold.
Unlike the above two companies, we can probably blame some selling pressure for Telstra's elevated level of trading today. Telstra shares finished the day down a nasty 1.03% to $3.85 after falling as much as 1.8% earlier today to $3.82 a share. Even so, this telco is still up an impressive 29% year to date in 2021 so far.
