It's been another healthy day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Thursday. After yesterday's pleasing gains, the ASX 200 has once again lifted, this time by 0.5% at the time of writing, putting the index at just over 7,150 points.
Perhaps we'll get a Santa rally after all this December (although the markets will have to pull a mighty big rabbit out of the hat tomorrow).
But time now to dive a little deeper into the pleasing gains we are seeing. So let's take stock of the ASX 200 shares currently sitting atop the share market's trading volume charts, according to investing.com.
The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Thursday
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
The first ASX 200 share to check out today is the mining giant South32. A sizeable 9.52 million South32 shares have been traded on the share market thus far this Thursday. We haven't heard much out of South32 recently, except for ongoing share buyback notices, which could in themselves be boosting volumes.
But it's more likely that today's high numbers are a result of the gyrations of the South32 share price itself. South32 initially opened strongly this morning, rising up as high as $4.18 a share. But investors seem to have cooled on the company as the day has gone on. The miner is now flat at $4.10 a share.
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)
Next up we have ASX 200 energy utility share, Origin. So far this Thursday, a notable 19.56 million Origin Energy shares have changed owners. There's been no major news out of Origin today either.
Saying that, yesterday saw a big jump for the company after news of a $9 per share takeover offer became public. Today, Origin shares have bumped higher again, currently up 1.32% at $7.65. It's this combination that has probably caused the high volumes we are seeing.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
It will surprise no one that our last ASX 200 share today is lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. A sizeable 39.02 million Pilbara shares have been exchanged on the markets this Thursday. Similarly to South32, it looks as though this volume is a result of some bumpy share price movements on the market today.
Pilbara also opened in the green this morning, rising as high as $3.92 a share. But again, investors seem to have gotten cold feet on this one too. At present, Pilbara shares have fallen into the red, and are currently going for $3.81 each, down 0.78% for the day.
