The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty terrible day on the share markets today, if we can be completely frank. The ASX 200 is currently down a nasty 1.01% to 7,202 points.
But rather than crying over spilt milk, let's instead take a look at which ASX 200 shares are proving the most popular today in terms of raw trading volume, according to invsting.com.
The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares so far today
Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH)
ASX 200 energy share Oil Search is our first cab off the rank today. This oil driller has seen a notable 19.1 million of its shares swap hands on the markets so far today. With no major news or announcements out of Oil Search, we can probably assume today's volume can be put down to the Oil Search share price itself.
This company has had quite a day so far. Initially after open this morning, Oil Search cratered down to $4.29 a share. But since then, the company's shares have staged a mild recovery. Although Oil Search remains down by 0.11% at $4.40 at the time of writing. It's likely this turbulence is what's behind the high trading volumes we see today.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
Next up we have ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. Pilbara has seen a substantial 20.26 million of its own shares bought and sold so far on today's share market. This company did release a general meeting presentation earlier this afternoon, but this is unlikely to have had a major impact on trading volumes.
Instead, we can probably look to the nasty share price fall Pilbara has undergone so far this Wednesday. This lithium share is currently down by 2.43% to $2.01 a share at the time of writing.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)
Out final ASX 200 share today is another energy company in Beach Energy. Beach tops the ASX 200 so far today for trading volume, with a mighty 21.68 million shares bought and sold thus far. Like Oil Search, Beach has has a rather volatile day. It opened higher this morning at $1.40 a share, but quickly fell back down to $1.34 soon after.
However, Beach has also staged something of a recovery later in the day, and is currently sitting at $1.36 a share, down just 0.22% so far. It's this volatility that has likely sparked such a high trading volume.
