The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had yet another pretty nasty day of trading this Thursday. The ASX 200 has finished the day 1.9% lower at 7,369 points. That's a pretty depressing figure, so instead, let's check out the heaviest trading ASX 200 shares today.
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The 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares on Thursday
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
Diversified ASX 200 miner South32 is our first ASX 200 share to consider today. This mining company has seen a hefty 20 million of its shares swap hands today. That is almost certainly a consequence of what has happened to the South32 share price this Thursday.
South32 shares had a last minute spike in closing trade, finishing down 3.87% to $3.23 a share. There are no major news or announcements out of the company today that might explain such a move downwards.
However, South32 did trade ex-dividend today for its 5.5 US cents final dividend. It's likely that this is why we are seeing so many shares change hands today.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
ASX 200 telco Telstra is our next share up today. This telecommunications giant has seen a sizeable 25 million shares change owners on the ASX boards today.
With no news, announcements or ex-dividend days for Telstra today, this high volume of shares appears to be the pure result of the selloff in Telstra we see this Thursday. The telco was trading down by 1.52% to $3.88 a share at today's market close.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
And our final ASX 200 share to check out this Thursday is lithium producer Pilbara Minerals, with a whopping 35 million shares bought and sold so far. Just like with Telstra, today's big move appears to be the result of a big sell down in the Pilbara share price.
This company has lost a meaningful 5.55% today and is sitting at $2.05 a share at the close. It's this relatively large decline in value that is likely behind all of those shares flying around the market today.
