TGIF! That's probably what many investors are feeling today as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stages what would surely be a much-welcomed rebound after a week of relentless heavy selling. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up by a healthy 1.7% to back over 7,050 points.
So let's delve deeper into these positive moves and check out the ASX 200 shares currently topping the share market's trading volume charts, according to investing.com.
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The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
Our first ASX 200 share to take a look at today is the diversified miner South32. South32 has had a sizeable 10.91 million shares swap hands as it currently stands. There hasn't been any news out of the miner today, save for the typical share buyback notice, reflecting the company's ongoing program.
This could be lifting volumes in itself. But the probable cause here is likely to be South32's bumpy share price performance today. The company rose as high as $4.46 in early trade this morning after closing at $4.37 yesterday but has since pared back these gains to $4.38, a gain of 0.23%.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
ASX 200 telco Telstra is next up this Friday. Telstra has had a notable 13.47 million of its shares trade on the markets today. Again, we have no real news out of Telstra today, save for another share buyback notice. However, Telstra shares have blossomed today. The telco is currently up almost 2% at $3.95 a share. It's likely to be this healthy share price movement that is behind this elevated trading volume we see.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
And our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share this Friday goes to lithium producer Pilbara minerals. Pilbara has had 18.64 million of its shares bought and sold on the markets today. We still haven't seen any news out of Pilbara in May so far.
But Pilbara shares have been rather volatile during today's trading session. The company opened well in the green, rising as high as $2.54 a share. But the company has since descended back into loss territory, falling to $2.40 just after lunchtime. As it currently stands, Pilbara has bounced back and is now at $2.47 a share, up 0.82% for the day. It's this volatility that is likely behind the high share volumes we are seeing.
