The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Wall Street ended sharply higher on Thursday, with chip stocks jumping and Microsoft logging its biggest daily percentage gain in 18 years after it gave a stellar forecast. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Microsoft's stock market value on Thursday jumped more than 15 per cent, the greatest-ever single-day increase for a company on Wall Street. Microsoft forecast quarterly sales and cloud growth above expectations. It also reported capital expenditures below estimates and said it expects to keep generating cash through its fiscal 2027 that has just begun. This year, investors have been spooked by heavy spending on artificial intelligence. Negative cash-flow reports from Alphabet and Tesla last week sparked a bout of selling in AI-linked stocks, with chip stocks also under pressure as investors questioned high valuations. Meta Platforms tumbled after the social media heavyweight reported a 91-per-cent drop in second quarter free cash flow, indicating the financial strain of its costly AI build-out. Argent Capital says these are battleground stocks, with investors uncertain if the return on investment from massive capex spending will be worthwhile.