Big bank earnings, Broadcom’s OpenAI chip deal, record-high car prices and more in Morning Squawk

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Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

OpenAI made its latest artificial intelligence partnership official yesterday, announcing a custom chip deal with Broadcom. Shares of the chipmaker closed Monday’s session nearly 10% higher following news of the partnership, though the stock pulled back by 3% in premarket trading this morning.

Here’s what to know:

• The companies — which have been working together for 18 months — are building and deploying 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators as part of the deal.
• While the financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, analysts were quick to suggest that OpenAI is the unnamed $10 billion customer that Broadcom touted in September. But Charlie Kawwas, president of Broadcom’s semiconductor solutions group, told CNBC that the mystery customer is a different company.
• With the deal, CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos reports, OpenAI is venturing into the chipmaking business and increasingly positioning itself as a competitor to hyperscalers.
• Other chip stocks including Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor, On Semiconductor and Micron Technology also saw upside in yesterday’s session.
• Tech stocks led the market’s rebound to start the week, with the S&P 500 clawing back more than half of what it lost in Friday’s sell-off.
• Oaktree Capital Management co-founder Howard Marks said he isn’t describing the AI trade as a “bubble” just yet. “The valuations are … high but not crazy,” he told CNBC.

President Donald Trump traveled to Israel and Egypt yesterday to finalize a peace deal he said ended the war in Gaza. Trump first arrived in Tel Aviv to mark the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its 2023 invasion of Israel, saying in a speech at the Israeli parliament that the “long and painful nightmare” was over for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Experts told CNBC’s Lori Ann LaRocco that despite the ceasefire, ocean carriers likely won’t return to the Red Sea in the near future. The Houthi rebels who have launched attacks on trade vessels in the body of water said they will not stop targeting the maritime routes.

Shares of U.S. rare earth miners are continuing to rally before the opening bell this morning. The stocks notched solid gains in Monday’s session after China’s tightening of export controls led Trump to reignite the U.S.-China trade dispute.

As CNBC’s Spencer Kimball reports, Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth exports could hit the U.S. defense industry, in particular. The Defense Department is reportedly speeding up its effort to stockpile $1 billion worth of the critical minerals, which are crucial components of several U.S. weapons systems. The fact that the U.S. doesn’t have its own rare earth reserve is “scandalous,” Jeremy Siegel of the University of Pennsylvania told CNBC yesterday.

The average price for a new car reached new highs last month. According to Cox Automotive, the average price paid in September surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever.

But while price tags climb and well-off consumers shell out, auto loan delinquency rates among people with low credit ratings are sitting near all-time highs. As CNBC’s Mike Wayland reports, it’s the latest example of a “K-shaped” economy in the U.S.

— CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos, Ashley Capoot, Spencer Kimball, Sam Meredith, Lori Ann LaRocco, Liz Napolitano, Holly Ellyatt, Samantha Subin and Mike Wayland contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.