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

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

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 February 23, 2022 3:24 pm AEDT

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is staging a mild recovery so far today after yesterday's nasty fall. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained 0.36% and is sitting at 7,187 points.

So let's dive a little deeper and check out the shares that are currently topping the ASX 200's volume charts, according to investing.com.

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The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume so far on Wednesday

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX 200 Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Scentre Group is our first share to check out today. The owner of the Westfield brand in Australia has seen a sizeable 16.08 million of its shares change hands so far. This follows the company's half-year earnings results that were released this morning.

As my Fool colleague Zach covered earlier, this saw Scentre report a 10.9% increase in operating profits and a 103.6% rise in dividend distributions. However, investors don't seem to be impressed, and have sent Scentre units down a meaningful 4.75% so far today at $3.01 a unit. It's these factors that are likely behind this elevated volume we see.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra is our next share to check out today. This ASX 200 telco has had a notable 17.43 million shares swap owners thus far this Wednesday.

Unlike Scentre, there has been no major news or announcements out of Telstra today. However, the company is up a beefy 2.3% so far today at $4.02 a share. Also, Telstra has resumed buying its own shares back on the open market. These two catalysts might be responsible for this high trading volume.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Lithium producer Pilbara Minerals is our last share today, but certainly not least in terms of trading volume. Pilbara has had 34.1 million shares trade on the markets thus far this Wednesday, topping out the ASX 200. Like Scentre, Pilbara also dropped its half-year earnings report earlier today. As we discussed this morning, the company reported a 49% increase in shipments, along with a whopping 394% surge in sales revenue.

Investors reacted in a rather strange fashion, sending Pilbara shares down to $2.58 soon after open, but then sending them way back up to the current $2.89 a share, 3.58% higher. Go figure. It's these earnings and share price volatility that is almost certainly behind this trading volume we are seeing.

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