Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Amazon rose early Monday after a report said it was planning to open more Whole Foods stores across the US to place more customers within range of Prime Now's two-hour delivery service.

The report did not detail exactly how many Whole Foods stores Amazon was planning to open and expand.

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Amazon rose more than 2% early Monday, to more than $1,509 a share, after a report said it planned to open more Whole Foods locations across the United States.

The push would place more customers within range of Amazon's two-hour delivery service, Prime Now, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the plans.

Both retailers declined to comment to The Journal on new store construction and spending, though one person familiar with the plans said Whole Foods employees have visited "potential retail spaces in parts of Idaho, southern Utah and Wyoming, where the grocer doesn’t have stores now."

Read more: Amazon has plans to open even more Whole Foods stores, and it shows the e-commerce giant has no intention to slow down its push into physical retail

Whole Foods currently has more than 350 retail and non-retail locations in the US, Canada, and the UK. Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.5 billion after Whole Foods had courted seven potential partners for a deal.

Amazon shares have climbed 25% in 2018, though they are down 28% since hitting an all-time high of $2,050.50 in early September.

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