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

Some massive share price recoveries are driving trading volumes on 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 March 17, 2023 3:19 pm AEDT

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks like it is on track to finish what has been a wild and woolly trading week on a high note so far this Friday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has put on a robust 0.33%, which lifts the index back over 6,980 points.

That's despite a brief dip into negative territory just after lunchtime today.

But rather than trying to figure all of that out, let's now turn to look at the shares that are at the top of the ASX 200's share trading volume charts right now, according to investing.com.

Group of friends trading stocks on their phones. symbolising the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares today — Image source: Getty Images

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra has been trading at high volumes all week, and today is no exception, it seems. This ASX 200 telco has had a hefty 19.17 million of its shares find a new home so far this Friday. There hasn't been any news from the company itself that might explain this volume. So let's take a look at the Telstra share price itself to explain what we see.

Telstra has indeed had a rocky end to the trading week. The telco is presently up by a healthy 0.37% at $4.12 a share. But today's session has been a bouncy one, with Telstra fluctuating between $4.08 and $4.12 a share all day after closing at $4.10 yesterday. This is probably why we see so many Telstra shares trading.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Next up is the mining company South32. This ASX 200 resources giant has seen a sizeable 19.32 million of its shares exchange on the markets thus far. This might be being assisted by South32's ongoing share buyback program.

But the pleasing 2.4% bump to $4.10 a share that South32 is enjoying today is probably the primary driver of these elevated trading volumes. Perhaps some recent love from an ASX broker is helping as well.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Our third, final and most traded share today is the ASX 200 lithium miner Pilbara Minerals. In this company's case, a notable 21.97 million shares have been bought and sold today. We haven't seen any fresh news out of Pilbara either.

But this popular lithium share is on a tear today. Pilbara shares are currently basking in a 2.94% lift in share price to $3.68 a share. This puts Pilbara up more than 6% since yesterday morning, but still down around 7% over the past week or so. Regardless, it looks like this strong lift in valuation is behind Pilbara's place at the top of the pile today.

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