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

Massive share price volatility is driving trading volumes this Tuesday.

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 May 16, 2023 3:24 pm AEST

It's been a fairly dreary Tuesday for ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today. After eking out a small gain yesterday, the ASX 200 looks like it is set to record a loss for this Tuesday's session, with the Index presently nursing a 0.39% loss, putting it at just under 7,240 points.

Bummer. But rather than dwelling on all of that, let's now take note of the ASX 200 shares that are currently at the top of 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 Tuesday

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The first company worth a gander today is ASX 200 mining giant South32. So far this session, a notable 13.4 million South32 shares have been traded on the ASX. We haven't seen any news from the company itself that might explain this volume, save for a routine share buyback notice. So it's probably the result of the shaky performance of the company's shares themselves.

South32 had a rough start to the morning, dropping as low as $4.015 a share. But investors seem to have recovered their confidence as the day has gone on, with the miner now up a healthy 0.5% at $4.06 a share. This bouncing around probably explains the volumes we are seeing.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Next up, we have ASX 200 lithium stock Core Lithium. This Tuesday has seen a sizeable 19.42 million Core shares swap hands as it currently stands. With no fresh news out of Core either, it again seems like the company's shares themselves are to thank for this activity.

Core Lithium has spent time in both positive and negative territory this session, rising as high as $1.20 a share (up 2%) and going as low as $1.16 (down 0.85%). This volatility would explain the elevated volumes on display. Core Lithium is currently trading for $1.182 a share, up 1.03%.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Last but certainly not least in terms of trading volumes, we have another ASX 200 lithium stock in Pilbara Minerals. A hefty 26.9 million PIlbara shares have found a new home on the ASX so far today. Once more, it looks as though share price volatility is the smoking gun here.

Like the other shares on this list, Pilbara has had a shaky day today, with time in both the red and green. We've seen Pilbara rise as high as $4.81 a share but sink as low as $4.71 – a difference of 1.8%. All of this bouncing around is again the likely source of the big trade volumes we are witnessing. The Pilbara share price is now $4.79, 1.27% higher than yesterday's close.

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