Western Digital's stock soars after WSJ report of talks on $20+ billion merger deal with Japan's Kioxia

Shares of Western Digital Corp. WDC, +7.87% soared 11.7% successful day trading Wednesday, to gait the S&P 500's SPX, +0.28% gainers, aft The Wall Street Journal reported that the information retention institution was successful merger talks with Japan-based Kioxia Holdings Corp., successful a woody that could beryllium valued astatine much than $20 billion. Citing radical acquainted with the matter, the WSJ report said the long-running talks person heated up successful the past fewer weeks, with a woody imaginable arsenic aboriginal arsenic the mediate of September. Western Digital would usage banal to wage for the deal, and the combined institution would apt beryllium tally by David Goeckeler, its main executive, the WSJ study said. The banal has present gained 22.5% twelvemonth to date, portion the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF XLK, -0.05% has rallied 21.0% and the S&P 500 has precocious 19.8%.