LONDON (ShareCast) - The FTSE 100 had come off its earlier highs but was still trading in positive territory by Wednesday lunchtime, as markets await the Autumn Statement from Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

He is set to say: "In this Autumn Statement, we show that this coalition government is confronting the country's problems, instead of ducking them.

"The public know that there are no miracle cures. Just the hard work of dealing with our deficit and ensuring Britain wins the global race."

Among the measures that are expected to be announced are: a cut in tax relief on pensions savings for top earners; plans to suspend the January 3p rise in fuel duty to ease prices at the pumps; a £5bn investment programme for transport and schools, funded by further cuts in Departmental spending; an expansion of gas-fired power plants; a freeze in business rates in April 2013; and a clamp down on tax avoidance.

The positive mood on markets this morning was helped by a more upbeat outlook for China which lifted Asian equities overnight. Mining stocks in London were performing well after think-tank Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicted that Chinese economic growth would quicken to 8.2% in 2013, from an estimate expansion of 7.7% this year.

Investors were also digesting the HSBC China services PMI. In spite of the rate of expansion easing last month (falling from 53.5 to 52.1), November marked the first simultaneous increase in levels of activity in both the manufacturing and service sectors since July.

Markus Huber, the head of German HNW trading at ETX Capital, said: "Recent changes having taken place in Chinese politics have not only removed a lot of uncertainty in regard where China and the Chinese economy will be heading in the years to come, but traders are also increasingly optimistic that the change in political leadership will be leading to a sharp increase in ‘urbanisation’ which should lead to an increase in consumption and investment and consequently provide a strong boost to the economy as a whole."

FTSE 100: Tesco and mining stocks provide a boost

Supermarket titan Tesco was a high riser after announcing that it is considering a sale of its loss-making US division, Fresh & Easy. The news came alongside the group's third-quarter trading statement, in which it revealed a better-than-expected performance in the UK grocery division, though non-food sales continue to be weak.

Mining stocks were also performing well today on increasing optimism about China; Vedanta, Kazakhmys, Anglo American and Rio Tinto were making decent gains. Precious metals giant Polymetal also advanced after saying it was giving $191m dollars back to shareholders by way of a special dividend.

Global banking giant HSBC was higher after saying that it is to receive $9.39bn from the sale of its 15.57% stake in Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance.

Accountancy software group Sage fell after reporting that it had grown revenues slightly over the past year but was keeping a close eye on conditions in Europe, particularly France.

Aberdeen Asset Management, SABMiller and Severn Trent were also among the fallers after going ex-dividend.

FTSE 250: Home Retail jumps after upgrade

Shares in Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail raced ahead this morning after Bank of America Merill Lynch upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy' and hiked its price target from 110p to 130p. The broker said: “We see Argos as a beneficiary of recent capacity withdrawal in the electricals area and also as we think grocers will now be more focused on improving their performance in food.”

Petropavlovsk has said that on Tuesday it signed a share purchase agreement for the transfer of 65% of its issued shares in Omchak to Susumanzoloto in four tranches for $21.65m.

Public transport firm Stagecoach was wanted after saying that like-for-like revenue grew 5.9% in the half year to October and revenue growth in the second half is expected to be "relatively modest".

Online gaining firm Bwin.party fell after saying that Jim Ryan, its co-CEO, is to retire from the role in January and return to Canada with his family.

Wealth management firm Brewin Dolphin gained after reporting growth in funds under management after equity markets remained "surprisingly resilient".

Student accommodation group UNITE edged higher after hitting its disposal targets for 2012 after completing the sale of two assets in London and Glasgow.

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