The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) seems to have gotten out of the wrong side of the bed at the start of this pre-Christmas trading week. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down by 0.28% at 7,284 points after recovering from even steeper losses this morning.
So let's dig deeper and check out the ASX 200 shares topping the ASX 200's volume charts this afternoon, according to investing.com.
3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Monday
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)
ASX 200 energy company Santos is the first share on the list today. So far, 7.17 million Santos shares have been bought and sold on the markets this Monday. This volume has almost certainly been sparked by the nasty 4.7% drop Santos shares have suffered through. After a big plunge in crude oil prices over the weekend, Santos, along with most other ASX energy shares, have been sold off in the first trading session of the week.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
Pilbara Minerals is the next share up. This Monday has seen 9.63 million Pilbara shares traded on the share market at the time of writing. Again, with no news out of this lithium producer, we can probably look to the movement of the Pilbara share price itself to attempt to explain this high volume.
Pilbara shares are currently up by 0.73% at $2.77 each after touching a new all-time high of $2.81 earlier today. It's likely that it is this new all-time high that is putting Pilbara near the top of the ASX 200 trading volume charts this Monday.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
Another commodities company in South32 is our final and most traded ASX 200 share of the day. This diversified ASX 200 miner has seen 10 million of its shares find new owners so far this Monday. Unlike Santos though, South32 shares are enjoying some green ink today.
The South32 share price is currently up by 0.64% at $3.92 a share. With no other news or announcements out of the company, we can probably put this elevated volume down to this move upwards. South32's ongoing and on-market share buyback program is likely contributing as well.
