Gloomy first-quarter results for Reuters, the global information and technology company, contained no real surprises for analysts and battered shareholders, but did offer some optimism for its US business.

Finance director David Grigson's comment that Reuters had seen a glimmer of hope in its US revenue outlook propelled the company's share price on Wednesday morning to a two-month high of £1.33. Sales of Reuters Plus, a low- to mid-tier US equities product, and other products in the US were slightly more buoyant than in the rest of the world. But Grigson added that it was too early to say whether the US business had turned the corner.