Zero One Daily Intelligence Brief — April 08, 2026

Iran Ceasefire Sparks Relief Rally as Intel Joins Musk's $25B Terafab Chip Project

Top Market Signals

US-Iran ceasefire sends oil plunging and Asia markets surging

President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, conditional on Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices down over 9% and triggering a broad risk-on rally across Asian equities. West Texas Intermediate fell to around $96 a barrel within 30 minutes of the announcement. Treasuries rallied sharply as traders priced in renewed Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations.

The ceasefire follows weeks of escalating conflict that disrupted global shipping, spiked energy costs, and drove record foreign selling of Taiwan equities. Iran agreed to allow coordinated safe passage of marine traffic through the Hormuz Strait and submitted a 10-point peace proposal. Peace talks are expected Friday in Islamabad. However, the agreement is fragile — hours before the ceasefire, US forces struck Kharg Island, Iran's primary oil export facility, targeting bunkers, radar stations, and ammunition storage. Strategists say the two-week window creates a relief trade but not a structural de-risking, with the ceasefire's conditional nature keeping tail risk elevated.

Linked stocks: 2330 TT, 005930 KS, NVDA US Sources: Trump announces two-week ceasefire, Bloomberg

Intel joins Musk's $25 billion Terafab chip project

Intel announced it is joining Elon Musk's Terafab initiative alongside Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, in a project targeting up to a terawatt of compute capacity annually from advanced chip manufacturing facilities in Austin, Texas. Intel's role centers on providing its foundry manufacturing expertise to produce AI and robotics processors at unprecedented scale.

The Terafab project, first unveiled by Musk on March 23, aims to centralize chip design, fabrication, and advanced packaging into a tightly integrated ecosystem. Early estimates suggest an initial investment of $20-25 billion. One facility will power Tesla's electric vehicles and Optimus humanoid robots, while the other will support orbital AI data centers. Intel shares surged 28.5% over the past week, adding to gains from last week's Google and Amazon advanced packaging talks. The Terafab partnership positions Intel Foundry as a manufacturing backbone for Musk's expanding AI and robotics empire.

Linked stocks: INTC US, TSLA US Sources: Intel Joins Musk's Terafab Effort, Intel joins Elon Musk's TeraFab project

Taiwan CCL leaders smash records on AI server demand

Copper-clad laminate (CCL) maker Elite Material (台光電, 2383 TT) reported March revenue of NT$12.01 billion, up 56.6% YoY, and Q1 revenue of NT$33.07 billion, up 52.5% YoY — both all-time records driven by surging AI server demand. CCL is the foundational material of every printed circuit board: layers of copper foil bonded to engineered resin substrates that carry the electrical signals inside servers, switches, and computing hardware. As AI chips push data rates higher, the laminate material must be upgraded to preserve signal integrity — making CCL a direct picks-and-shovels beneficiary of the AI infrastructure buildout.

Elite Material cited accelerating demand as hyperscaler customers launch new compute platforms requiring higher-specification materials. Peer Taiwan Union Technology (台燿, 6274 TT) posted March revenue of NT$3.78 billion, up 72.3% YoY, also a monthly record, with Q1 revenue of NT$10.06 billion (+57.9% YoY). Growth was driven by product mix optimization toward M7 and M8 high-end CCL grades for AI servers and CSP ASIC applications, alongside expanding 400G/800G networking switch demand. Both companies posting 50-70% revenue growth signals that AI server production is ramping faster than consensus expected.

Linked stocks: 2383 TT, 6274 TT Sources: AI伺服器需求強勁 台光電3月、Q1營收雙創高, 台燿高階CCL占比升溫 3月營收年增72.34%

Test interface maker Keystone hits record on AI chip orders

Semiconductor test interface maker Keystone Microtech (穎崴, 6515 TT) reported March revenue of NT$1.221 billion, its first month above NT$1 billion, surging 69.3% YoY and 40.1% MoM to set an all-time high. Q1 revenue reached NT$2.98 billion (+29.7% YoY), also a quarterly record, defying typical seasonal weakness.

The company attributed the breakout to an "explosion" in AI-related orders, specifically for high-end test sockets and MEMS probe cards used in advanced chip testing. As AI processor complexity increases and chip packaging moves toward larger multi-die configurations, test interface requirements are growing in both volume and technical sophistication. Keystone's results serve as a leading indicator of chip production volumes several quarters out.

Linked stocks: 6515 TT Sources: 穎崴3月營收衝破12億元 Q1雙位數雙升齊登峰

South Korea posts record current account surplus on chip exports

South Korea recorded its largest current account surplus on record in February, powered by booming semiconductor exports that lifted the goods balance before the Iran war began disrupting energy markets and global shipping. The surplus underscores the extraordinary demand for memory chips during Q1 2026.

The timing is significant: February's data captures the pre-conflict demand environment, providing a clean read on underlying chip demand strength. Samsung and SK Hynix accounted for the bulk of the semiconductor export surge. The record comes despite a broader Asian export slowdown in other categories, isolating semiconductors as the dominant growth driver. With the Iran ceasefire potentially normalizing shipping routes, analysts expect the chip export momentum to re-accelerate.

Linked stocks: 005930 KS, 000660 KS Sources: Bloomberg

Micron surges 17% as US memory names catch rally

Micron Technology (MU US) rose 17.3% over the past week, extending gains as the global memory shortage and AI-driven demand narrative broadens from Korean producers to US-listed names. The rally follows Samsung's eightfold Q1 profit estimate and TrendForce's forecast for Q2 consumer DRAM contracts to rise 45-50%.

Micron's HBM3E capacity is sold out through the second half of 2026, and the company recently raised its capital expenditure guidance for the fiscal year. The company's Idaho fab expansion, supported by CHIPS Act funding, is on track for production later this year. With both Samsung and SK Hynix reporting exceptional memory earnings, Micron's valuation is being re-rated as the market prices in sustained pricing power across DRAM and NAND products.

Linked stocks: MU US, 005930 KS, 000660 KS Sources: Google News

先聲 First Word — Exclusives from Chinese-Language Sources

Elite Material posts record Q1 as AI server laminate demand accelerates

Copper-clad laminate (CCL) maker Elite Material (2383 TT) reported record March revenue of NT$12.01 billion (+56.6% YoY) and record Q1 revenue of NT$33.07 billion (+52.5% YoY). CCL is the base material of every circuit board — and AI servers need more of it at higher grades as data speeds increase. (8 Apr 2026) Source: AI伺服器需求強勁 台光電3月、Q1營收雙創高

Taiwan Union Technology hits record on high-end laminate mix shift

Copper-clad laminate maker Taiwan Union Technology (6274 TT) posted record March revenue of NT$3.78 billion (+72.3% YoY) and record Q1 revenue of NT$10.06 billion (+57.9% YoY), as demand for advanced M7/M8 grade laminates used in AI servers and 400G/800G network switches drove product mix sharply upmarket. (8 Apr 2026) Source: 台燿高階CCL占比升溫 3月營收年增72.34％ 創高

Keystone Microtech breaks NT$1B monthly revenue barrier on AI test demand

Test interface maker Keystone Microtech (6515 TT) surpassed NT$1 billion in monthly revenue for the first time, posting March revenue of NT$1.221 billion (+69.3% YoY, +40.1% MoM) as AI chip testing orders exploded. Q1 revenue hit NT$2.98 billion, a quarterly record. (8 Apr 2026) Source: 穎崴3月營收衝破12億元 Q1雙位數雙升齊登峰