STOCKS NEWS MIDEAST-Qatar's Barwa Real Estate hits 4-yr low on earnings

0750 GMT - Qatar's Barwa Real Estate Co slumps to a four-year low after the property developer said its first-quarter profit fell by nearly half. Barwa is down 4.3 percent at 23.35 riyals, having hit a four-year intraday low of 22.80 riyals in early trade. The company made a net profit of 158.5 million riyals ($43.53 million) in the three months to March 31, down from 292.5 million riyals a year ago. It did not give further information on earnings or the reasons for the drop. The stock is technically bearish; its drop last month below the January 2010 low of 26.00 riyals triggered a double top formed by the 2009 and 2010 peaks, and potentially pointing down as far as the 2009 low of 16.20 riyals. Qatar's index falls 0.3 percent to 8,603 points. --------------------------------------------------------- 0603 GMT - Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate fall in early trade after the two developers post tepid first-quarter earnings. Aldar falls 3.3 percent and accounts for more than two-thirds of all shares changing hands. It reported a 68 percent decline in quarterly profit before the market open. Sorouh also retreats, slipping 1.6 percent. Its first-quarter profit rose 21.6 percent, but that was largely due to reversal of contingencies on some completed projects and its revenue fell by more than a third. Abu Dhabi's index drops 0.5 percent to 3,263 points, trimming 2013 gains to 24 percent. Dubai's benchmark rises 0.4 percent to 2,109 points. It is up 30 percent this year. ------------------------------------------------------- 0532 GMT - Shares of Abu Dhabi's top two property developers could face selling pressure on Tuesday after the pair reported declining first-quarter revenue. Aldar Properties said both its quarterly revenue and net profit fell by more than half, indicating continued weakness in the UAE capital's property sector. That was underlined by gloomy numbers from smaller rival Sorouh Real Estate - the developer's quarterly profit rose 21.6 percent, but that was largely due to reversal of contingencies on some completed projects. Its revenue in the three months to March 31 fell by more than a third. Aldar's shares are up 17.2 percent this year and Sorouh has gained 50.4 percent over the same period, with the pair due to merge in June. Abu Dhabi's index has stuttered since hitting a 4-1/2 year high on Thursday, with some investors wary of committing more money to the market following an early-year surge. ($1 = 3.6409 Qatar rials) (Reporting by Matt Smith; Editing by Praveen Menon)