Europe Remains a Concern This Week

Updated from 02/13/10

Update includes Japan's report of better-than-expected fourth-quarter GDP and eurozone finance ministers' statements about Greece.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Investors will remain wary of troublesome European sovereign debt issues this week, but a sprinkling of economic data and earnings news may also refocus some of the market's attention on domestic affairs.

U.S. markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day. But investors will start anew Tuesday, with one eye on a bevy of domestic economic figures and earnings headlines. Still, most agree uncertainty about the debt problems in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland are the wild card that could overshadow everything.

Stocks ebbed and flowed last week, after European Union leaders proclaimed their hazy commitment to Greece and outlets reported Germany may aid the Mediterranean nation with loan guarantees.

On Monday, European stocks closed slightly higher, although volume was light. Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels told Greece it needed to get ready for even tighter spending cuts and more taxes if its current deficit-reduction efforts proved insufficient.

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Concerns have already spread well beyond Greece. Fears of mounting debt loads throughout Europe accelerated Friday after statistics showed fourth-quarter gross domestic product in the eurozone grew by a paltry 0.1% pace.

"It's not so much about Greece, because everyone knows it's a little guy," said Linda Duessel, equity market strategist at Federated Investors. "It's more about the systemic concerns coming out of that. The EU minister saying it's contained reminds us of when Bernanke said the subprime loan crisis was contained. So, does Greece lead Portugal and Spain down, and more importantly, will it cause a seizing up of the credit markets? I don't know how all of that plays out. It's going to play out, but no one knows for sure how."