* Q4 rev falls 6 pct, but tops Street view

* Sees Q1 EPS $0.30-$0.40 vs est $0.42

* Sees some sales stability in certain market segments

* Shares up 7 pct in pre-market trade (Adds details, background, share movement)

(Reuters) - Sherwin-Williams Co's (SHW.N) fourth-quarter adjusted profit beat Wall Street estimates, but the paint maker expects a weak first quarter, even as it sees signs of stability in some markets.

Shares of the company were up 7 percent at $63.10 in trading before the bell.

Housing is on the mend after a three-year slump, thanks to a popular tax credit for first-time buyers and low mortgage rates. New home construction contributed to economic growth in the third quarter of 2009 for the first time since 2005.

However, Sherwin-Williams, which caters to do-it-yourself customers, contractors, and multi-national industrial manufacturers, said that despite signs of stability, demand in most end markets remains weak and industry-wide volume is down significantly from peak levels seen a few years ago.

"We anticipate that the stabilization we are beginning to experience in some segments of the U.S. and global economies will continue, although not at a sufficient pace to offset continued softness in many other areas of the global economy," Chief Executive Christopher Connor said in a statement.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Sherwin forecast first-quarter earnings of between 30 cents and 40 cents a share, below analysts' estimates of 42 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the fourth quarter, the maker of Dutch Boy, Krylon and Duron paints, reported net income of $65.3 million, or 58 cents a share, up from $50.2 million, or 42 cents share, a year ago.

Excluding certain items, the company earned 84 cents a share.

Revenue at the company, which competes with larger peer PPG Industries Inc (PPG.N), shrunk by a lower-than-expected 6 percent to $1.6 billion, as paint sales volumes slumped.

Analysts were looking for earnings of 52 cents a share, on revenue of $1.55 billion.

In October last year, Sherwin-Williams forecast a fourth-quarter profit of between 35 cents and 55 cents a share, and said it expects sales to fall 8 percent to 12 percent in the quarter.

The company's shares, which have risen 20 percent in the last one year as the residential and commercial construction markets recovered, closed at $58.92 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.