'I'm Not Overly Optimistic' About a Greek Debt Deal: Strategist

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- If Greece fails to reach a debt deal, that could mean the end of the euro, one London-based market strategist said. If Greece left the eurozone, "it would mean the euro is not irreversible, and that's an outcome that both parties need to avoid at all costs," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "There is this misguided view in Germany that it would be in their interest to push Greece out of the euro. But I would caution against that, because if Greece leaves, it opens the door for a potential breakup of the euro," Hewson said. It would be unambiguously bad if a deal wasn't reached, Hewson said. He's not overly optimistic about the progress thus far between Greek and European Union officials. "There's a massive chasm that these two parties need to bridge, and unfortunately they are very entrenched in terms of their respective positions," he said. The European Central Bank provided $5 billion in liquidity for Greece on Thursday. But Greece's debt woes are far worse, and the country is nearing its Feb. 28 deadline to secure additional funding. Investors will be closely watching Monday's Eurogroup meeting, where EU finance ministers are expected to address Greece's looming cash shortage. The rest of Europe seems to be turning the corner when it comes to combating sluggish growth, at least for now. Gross domestic product in the eurozone rose 0.3% during the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to estimates of 0.2%, according to numbers released Friday. This was largely fueled by Germany's better-than-expected 0.7% economic expansion during the quarter. "[Germany's] economy impressively set an end to its growth soft-patch in Q2/Q3 2014, when GDP remained flat at quarterly average," wrote BNP Paribas European economist Evelyn Hermann in a note. "With a very strong start and a very strong end to 2014, GDP grew of 1.6% in 2014, above the initial estimate of 1.5% released in January." --Written by Scott Gamm in New York. Follow @ScottGamm.

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