Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday

Mining shares are dominating our most traded shares list this Friday.

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 December 2, 2022 3:21 pm AEDT

It's looking like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is about to give investors a rather disappointing end to the trading week this Friday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has slipped by a sad 0.67%, dragging the index down to just under 7,310 points. Even so, at this point, the ASX 200 remains handily up for the week, so it's not all bad.

But let's now dig a little deeper into today's market falls by checking out the ASX 200 shares currently at the peak of the share market's trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

A pair of legs can be seen on the floor buried under a pile of paperwork, indicating a high volume day. — Image source: Getty Images

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Our first stock of the day is the ASX 200 mining share South32. So far this Friday, a hefty 12.46 million South32 shares have been traded on the stock exchange. There hasn't been any news or announcements from the company so far today.

So we can likely blame the nasty share price fall this company is enduring today for this high volume. At present, the south32 share price has lost 1.63%, putting the company at $4.22 a share.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)

ASX 200 gold miner Evolution is next up today. So far this session, a sizeable 13.11 million Evolution shares have changed owners. Again, it looks like we can thank a share price movement for this volume.

Fortunately for Evolution investors, the company's shares are going the right way. Evolution is presently up a healthy 2.54% at $21.18 a share. Like most ASX gold shares today, Evolution seems to be benefitting from a surging gold price.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share today is the lithium leader Pilbara Minerals. This Friday has seen a notable 17.93 million Pilbara shares bought and sold so far. All is quiet on the official news front for Pilbara today as well.

But luckily for investors, Pilbara shares also seem to be bucking the market's pessimistic mood. After briefly dipping into negative territory this morning, Pilbara has recovered over the afternoon and is currently up a reasonable 0.74% at $4.80 a share. It's this gain, and bouncing share price, that is probably the cause of the elevated volumes we are seeing.

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