These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Thursday

We take a look at the most active ASX 200 shares by volume…

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published October 28, 2021 3:40 pm AEDT

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a somewhat lacklustre day of trading so far this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost 0.34% and is sitting at 7,424 points. But rather than dwelling on that figure, let's instead check out the ASX 200 shares topping the volume charts so far today, according to investing.com

An office worker and his desk covered in yellow post-it notes — Image source: Getty Images

3 most active ASX 200 shares by volume on Thursday

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

South32 is our first ASX 200 share experiencing elevated trading volume today. So far, a hefty 14.98 million S32 shares have changed owners this Thursday. There are no major pieces of news or announcements out of the company today that might explain such volume.

However, the South32 share price has taken a nasty beating today, currently down 4.02% to $3.58 a share. This steep drop is probably behind this diversified miner's high trading volume today.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra Corporation is our next ASX 200 share today. This telco has had a sizeable 15.5 million of its shares find new owners so far this Thursday. This might have something to do with the rumours that my Fool colleague Tristan covered earlier today.

Telstra is reportedly now not proceeding with potential plans to purchase the electricity generation assets of Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ). Telstra shares have been bouncing around a little today, and are currently at $3.91 each, down 0.26%. It's probably these rumours, the share price volatility, or a combination of both that is resulting in so many Telstra shares trading today.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

Our final and most traded ASX 200 share today is the coal miner Whitehaven, with a whopping 26.51 million shares bought and sold so far. This is almost certainly the result of the share price crash Whitehaven is enduring today.

The company is currently down a horrible 7.6% to $2.62 a share. As my Fool colleague Brooke covered earlier today, this seems to be the result of collapsing thermal coal futures in the Chinese market. Whitehaven is now down more than 27% over just the past 3 weeks or so.

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