Stock markets rose modestly Monday at the start of a busy week featuring Federal Reserve and OPEC meetings and major US corporate earnings.

The dollar was mixed ahead the Fed’s rate decision Wednesday.

Oil prices sank on stubborn fears over demand given the spike in cases in India — a major consumer — and before OPEC and its allies meet on Wednesday as part of their regular review of production.

After a mixed showing in Asia, European stocks pushed higher and US stocks were up in late morning trading.

“Markets remain quiet ahead of Tesla earnings tonight, which mark the shift to reports from a vital part of the market –- the big tech names,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading IG.

A number of big name firms like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google-parent Alphabet, Boeing, Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Mastercard, Chevron, and ExxonMobil are releasing their first quarter results this week, with Tesla leading the way after US markets close on Monday.

Around one-third of the S&P 500 is reporting earnings this week.

In addition to the Fed’s latest policy meeting, this week investors are due to get an initial estimate of first quarter GDP.

“The US economy is in a much better position compared to a few months ago, thanks to government stimulus and the fast pace of Covid vaccinations,” noted ThinkMarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

“So far, the strength of US data has not prevented the Fed from keeping the quantitative easing taps wide open.

“But if the improvement in data persists then it will only be a matter of time before the Fed tapers its emergency stimulus measures.”

US President Joe Biden is also due to make his first address to Congress and may unveil another big spending plan.

In Europe, shares in Lufthansa climbed 3.5 percent and shares in Air France-KLM gained 1.4 percent.

On the other hand, oil prices were hit as India saw five straight days of more than 300,000 new cases in a surge that has overwhelmed hospitals and left severe oxygen and medicine shortages.

A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East on Monday carrying 36 UK telecommunications and internet satellites, the Roscosmos space agency said.

OneWeb, a London-headquartered company, is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world.

The company is competing against billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the race to provide fast internet via satellites for the world’s remote areas.

Images released by Russia’s space agency Roscosmos showed the Soyuz rocket taking off against hazy skies Monday morning at 7:14 am local time (2214 GMT).

“All satellites have been successfully placed in target orbits and have been taken under customer control,” Roscosmos said in a statement.

“Mission success!” OneWeb wrote on Twitter.

The UK company plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by next year, supported by some 650 satellites.

Monday’s launch was the third batch of its satellites placed into orbit from Russia, with earlier launches from the Vostochny cosmodrome of 36 satellites each taking place last month and in December.

OneWeb’s first six satellites were also launched by a Russian-made Soyuz rocket, taking off from the space centre in Kourou in French Guiana in February 2019.

The company launched 68 more from the Baikanour launch site in Kazakhstan last year.

The Vostochny launch site is one of Russia’s most important space projects, designed to reduce reliance on the Baikonur space centre Moscow currently rents from Kazakhstan

The project has been consistently behind schedule, with its construction marred for years by multiple controversies including corruption.

Ethiopia announced Monday it had received two bids for licenses that would end the government’s monopoly over its stunted telecoms sector, one of the last closed markets in the world.

The shake-up of the potentially lucrative sector — currently dominated by state-owned Ethio Telecom — is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s economic reform agenda.

The bids came from South Africa’s MTN and a consortium including Kenya’s Safaricom, Vodafone and Vodacom, according to a statement from the Ethiopian Communications Authority, the government regulator.

Several other firms that had earlier expressed interest — including France’s Orange and the UAE’s Etisalat — did not submit bids.

But Brook Taye, senior adviser at the finance ministry, told AFP he was “very content” with how the process had played out so far.

“Our aim was always quality over quantity, so we would have loved to have so many other companies to participate but at the end of the day all of them have their own reasons,” he said.

Some companies might have been put off by a central bank directive preventing foreign-owned firms from providing mobile financial services, while others might have chafed at restrictions on developing independent infrastructure, Brook said.

Ethiopia also has a reputation for extended internet shutdowns during periods of social unrest and more innocuous events like national exams.

While Abiy’s government has said it will award two telecoms licenses, Brook said there was no guarantee the bids received Monday would be successful.

Officials will now begin reviewing the technical and financial specifics of the bids, and Brook predicted a final decision would be announced within two weeks.

The licenses are expected to bring an infusion of cash, jobs and infrastructure investment.

Ethiopia’s telecoms reforms also include a plan to sell a stake in Ethio Telecom, a move they hope will make the firm more efficient.

“Hopefully in about a year, no more dropped calls in the middle of an important conversation, or messages from your telecom operator saying… the person you called is not in the coverage area and whatnot,” Brook said.