It's been a bumpy, yet overall negative second trading day of the week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far today. Following yesterday's rip-roaring gains, the ASX 200 seems to not quite know what it wants out of today's session, with several stints in both red and green ink.
At the time of writing, the index is down by an anaemic 0.08%. That leaves the ASX 200 at around 7,210 points.
So rather than trying to figure all of that out, let's instead have a look at the ASX 200 shares that are currently at the top of the share market's trading volume charts, according to investing.com.
The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Tuesday
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
First up today is a familiar face in ASX 200 lithium stock Pilbara Minerals. So far this Tuesday, a decent 12.77 million Pilbara shares have been swapped on the ASX. There hasn't been any news out of Pilbara itself that might explain this volume. However, the Pilbara share price has also had a volatile day.
Like the ASX 200, Pilbara has spent time in both positive and negative territory, bouncing between $4.45 and $4.55 a share all session. This bouncy showing is probably why we are seeing so many Pilbara shares flying around.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)
Next up we have ASX 200 uranium share Paladin Energy. A hefty 40.41 million of this company's shares have changed hands as it currently stands. This isn't a hard one to work out. Paladin has suffered a devastating 19.55% sell-off this session, leaving its shares at 54 cents after a trading halt was imposed.
As we dug into this morning, investors have been spooked by a decision by the Namibian government to partially nationalise the country's mines. Unfortunately for Paladin, one of its major projects in the Langer Heinrich Mine is based in Namibia. So with a sell-off of that scale, it's no surprise to see so many Paladin shares trading.
Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)
Last, but certainly not least in terms of trading volume, we have another ASX 200 lithium share in Sayona Mining to check out. Fasten your seatbelts, because a mind-boggling 150.2 million Sayona shares have been bought and sold on the ASX boards so far today.
This extraordinary trading volume seems to be another result of a nasty share price drop. Sayona's losses aren't quite on Paladin's level this Tuesday. But even so, the company is still nursing a sizeable 11.9% loss right now. That leaves it at just over 18 cents a share.
This steep selling pressure comes after Sayona stock returned to trading today after a halt was initiated last week to facilitate a capital raising. Sayona successfully raised $200 million from institutional investors at a price of 18 cents a share. This probably explains why the company is heading towards that pricing point today.
