India, Dec. 28 -- Apple chief Tim Cook bought shares worth about $3 million in Nike, a move that nearly doubled his personal stake in the sportswear maker and signaled confidence in the turnaround strategy laid out by CEO Elliott Hill. Shares of the company closed 4.6% higher on Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that Cook, who has been on Nike's board since 2005, bought 50,000 shares at $58.97 each.

As of December 22, he held about 105,000 shares, according to the filing released on Tuesday. It was the largest open market stock purchase for a Nike director or executive and possibly the largest in more than a decade, said Jonathan Komp, analyst at Baird Equity Research. "(We see) Cook's move as a positive signal for the progress ...