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

Paladin Energy is smashing trading volumes 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 February 3, 2023 3:47 pm AEDT

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to end the week on a very high note this Friday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 Index has risen by a healthy 0.54%, leaving the index at just over 7,550 points.

So let's now dig a little deeper into these pleasing gains for the ASX 200 by taking stock of the ASX 200 shares that are presently at the peak of the share market's trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

a group of three people carry a large block to line it up in ascending order with two other blocks nearby. — Image source: Getty Images

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

First up this Friday is the ASX 200 telco Telstra. This session has had a hefty 12.57 million Telstra shares traded so far. There hasn't been any fresh news out from the telco giant for almost a month now. So this volume can probably be explained by the movements of the Telstra share price itself.

Telstra has had a bit of a bumpy ride over Friday thus far. At present, Telstra shares are up by 0.36% at $4.14, but have spent time in both positive and negative territory today, and got down to $4.11 at one point. This volatility is the most likely cause of these high volumes.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Next up today we have ASX 200 lithium stock Sayona Mining. A sizeable 25.76 million Sayona shares have said sayonara to their old owners so far today. This looks like a probable consequence of the share price falls we have seen with Sayona today.

In defiance of the broader market, Sayona shares have slumped a meaningful 1.85% at this point of the session down to 26 cents a share. That's despite Sayona rising to 28 cents a share earlier this morning. This drop looks like the smoking gun behind the volumes we are witnessing.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

ASX 200 uranium miner Paladin is our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share to examine today. And what an examination it will be. Paladin has smashed the ASX 200's trading volumes today, with a whopping 247.25 million shares trading hands thus far.

Such a massive volume for Paladin is rather unusual, but there's no obvious explanation for this huge figure. Sure, the Paladin share price is down by a nasty 6.74% at present to 80 cents per share. So this could explain some of this elevated volume.

But perhaps an institutional buyer has come in and either loaded up or sold a very large parcel of shares. Whatever the cause, it looks like Paladin is set to hold its first place on the podium for the rest of the session.

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