Trading in shares of more than 3,000 US companies listed by Nasdaq, including Google, Apple and Microsoft, was abruptly halted shortly after midday yesterday because of a technical problem, the latest black eye for the US securities trading business.

UNEXPECTEDLY weak US job numbers for August yesterday reinforced fears of recession, driving investors out of stocks and into the safety of bonds, gold and the Swiss franc. World stocks fell nearly 2 percent after the US Labour Department said employers added no new jobs in August and July’s figure was revised lower.

A stock market gaining confidence in the US financial system bolted higher today, propelling the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor’s 500 index to their first four-day advance since last spring.