The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty unpleasant day on the markets this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down by 0.48% at 7,388 points.
But rather than crying over that spilt milk, let’s instead check out the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the ASX trading volume charts, according to investing.com.
3 most active ASX 200 shares by volume on Thursday
Telstra Corproation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
Telstra is our first ASX 200 share that’s experiencing high trading volumes this Thursday. This telco has seen a sizeable 14.36 million of its shares find new owners so far on the markets today. This could be a result of the volatile Telstra share price.
Telstra has been playing jump rope with the breakeven line all day today. It was down this morning, then flat, then down again, and now it’s up by 0.51% at $3.94 a share. It’s this volatility that has likely led to this company’s elevated trading volume today. Some on-market share buybacks might also be helping.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
Mining company South32 is next up this Thursday. We have seen a hefty 15.54 million S32 shares swap hands thus far today. There’s not much in the way of news or announcements out of South32 that might explain this volume.
Thus, the high number of shares flying around is likely the result of South32’s modest 0.72% share price jump we see to $3.49. South32 is another ASX 200 blue chip that has been buying back its own shares, so this could also be pushing up the trading volume figures.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)
Fortescue is our most traded ASX 200 share so far today. A whopping 16.95 million Fortescue shares have been bought and sold so far today.
We don’t have to look too far on this one to see why though. This ASX 200 mining giant has seen its share price rocket by more than 10% today, it’s currently at $15.66 at the time of writing, up 10.3%. My Fool colleague dug a little deeper into this rise earlier, but this is almost certainly why so many Fortescue shares are flying around the markets today.