London's top stocks have opened strongly with good gains for resource stocks sending the index sharply higher.Cairn Energy leads the oil sector, while demand is strong for Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Fresnillo among the miners. Silver miner Fresnillo has also dropped out of the race for Canadian mining company Canplats Resources.SABMiller is lower after it pulled out of the race to buy the Femsa stable of beer brands leaving the way seemingly clear for rival brewer Heineken.Cash strapped plumbers merchant Wolseley is to raise just under £24m from the sale of its Irish businesses. WIBHM, a company backed by private investor, is paying €26.5m for Wolseley Ireland Holdings Limited (WIHL). The consideration will be satisfied through the issue of a €20m loan note of one year duration, bearing a coupon of 10%, with the remainder of the settlement to be paid in cash on completion.Inès Reinman, Segro's head of Continental Europe has resigned from the industrial property group barely a year she was promoted to the board. "Current trading and market conditions are in line with our expectations at the time of our Interim Management Statement issued on 5 November 2009," chief executive Ian Coull added.Online gaming group PartyGaming has tied up an an exclusive, five-year agreement with state-controlled Danske Spil to provide an online gaming platform for poker and casino games in Denmark. Outdoor clothing retailer Blacks Leisure said it is mulling a possible equity fundraising in the first quarter to raise between £15m and £20m depending on investor demand. 'Proceeds from the potential fundraising being announced today would allow us to accelerate the roll-out of our successful new retail formats, refreshing our estate and expanding it on a selective basis as we focus on realising the potential of the group's market leadership position in outdoor retail,' said chief executive Neil Gillis.The US Navy has awarded defence and aerospace group Cobham a contract worth up to $11.5m for the UK group. Cobham has won the Band 5/6 TWT (Travelling-wave Tube) Replacement Module Assembly (TRMA) development contract.