US Stock Market Move | Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) CEO Cook increased holdings of NIKE, Inc. Class B (NKE.US) by more than 2.6% in pre-market trading.

On Wednesday, NIKE, Inc. Class B (NKE.US) rose more than 2.6% in pre-market trading, reaching $58.86 per share. On the news front, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) CEO Tim Cook personally purchased nearly $3 million worth of NIKE, Inc. Class B stock. Cook has been serving on the board of directors of NIKE, Inc. Class B since 2005 and is the company's lead independent director. Cook is also frequently seen wearing Nike collaboration sneakers at Apple Inc. events. According to a SEC filing released on Tuesday, Cook purchased 50,000 shares of NIKE, Inc. Class B stock at a price of $58.97 each. This move comes after NIKE, Inc. Class B's latest earnings report showed weak quarterly profit margins and a significant slowdown in sales in the Chinese market. Since the earnings report was released on December 18th, NIKE, Inc. Class B's stock price has dropped by nearly 13%, with a year-to-date decline of as much as 22%, significantly underperforming the S&P 500 index. According to the filing, as of December 22nd, Cook now holds approximately 105,000 shares of NIKE, Inc. Class B stock, making this latest purchase a "buying on the dip" move. Several financial media outlets have interpreted Cook's increased holdings as a strong expression of confidence in the future growth prospects of NIKE, Inc. Class B.