What a sad end to the week the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has been enduring so far this Friday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost another painful 1.85% or so and is now back under 6,500 points.
But let's not let that ruin our weekends. So let's now take a look at the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the share market's trading volume charts, according to investing.com, instead.
The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
ASX 200 lithium stock Pilbara is our first share to check out today. So far this Friday, a hefty 15.3 million Pilbara shares have been bought and sold on the share market. There hasn't been a peep out of Pilbara so far today that we can point to.
However, this lithium producer has suffered a nasty share price hit today. Pilbara shares are presently down by 3.3% at $2.06 a share. It's this steep drop that seems responsible for this elevated trading volume.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
ASX 200 diversified miner South32 is our next share to check out this Friday. As it currently stands, a notable 18.91 million South32 shares have changed hands. South32 has recently been buying back its own shares, which could be boosting volumes in itself.
However, it's almost certainly the horrible share price fall we've seen with South32 today that is responsible for South32's high volumes. The miner has suffered a whopping 5.54% drop to $4.18 a share so far today, which puts South32 at a five-day loss of almost 15%.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
Telstra is our third, final and most traded share of the day thus far. So far today, a sizeable 19.21 million of this ASX 200 telco's shares have found a new home. We haven't heard anything out of Telstra today either.
But this blue-chip share has not escaped the woes of the broader market either. Telstra has today lost a not-insignificant 1.8% of its value and is now at $3.81 a share at the time of writing. This is the most likely explanation for Telstra's presence here today.