Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com). Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it exclusively produces is in the public domain. October 3, 2008 US, European Stocks Rise; Key Asian Markets Decline --------------------------------------------------- http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1E8065A:A6F02AD83191E160C86A420B223CB917C030207A0BD70133& Traders watching as US House of Representatives considers massive government-sponsored bailout plan for financial sector U.S. stock markets are making strong gains in Friday's early trading. Traders are watching as the U.S. House of Representatives considers a massive government-sponsored bailout plan for the financial sector. European markets also posted modest gains. It was a different story in Asia, where Japan's benchmark Nikkei index fell two percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down nearly three percent. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.