Market's had a great run; expect slowdown and volatility in back half, expert says

• The recent market action is just a reminder that stocks can have volatility, not an indication of a change in direction, Matrix Asset Advisors' David Katz told CNBC.
• He predicts the market's going to slow down in the back half of the year, with more volatile days ahead.

Concern over North Korea may be weighing on the stock market, but expert David Katz said it shouldn't have a long-lasting effect.

That's because he believes that ultimately the situation will settle down, he said.

"The last few days is just a reminder that stocks can have volatility, not an indication of a change in direction," the chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday.

However, Katz also sees a rockier path ahead for stocks.

"You've had a great run in the first seven months of the year. We think the market's going to slow down in the back half of the year. We think there's going to be a lot more volatility days like the last few days," he said.

Katz expects growth stocks to decline but believes there will be an opportunity to buy some of the laggards, such as value stocks and high-yield names, he said.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

U.S. equities dropped on Thursday as tensions between the United States and North Korea escalated. The Dow Jones industrial average fell just over 200 points, closing at 21,844.01.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said North Korea would face "fire and fury" if it continued to threaten the United States. North Korea responded by saying it was considering a plan to attack Guam and dismissed Trump's warnings as a "load of nonsense." On Thursday, Trump said his previous statement may not have been tough enough.

The president also hammered Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday, urging him to "get back to work" to pass key parts of the Republican agenda.

With all that's going on, Dan Morgan said it's only natural to get a pullback here — and that could be good news.

"We've been kind of holding back a little bit waiting for things to correct. It's been hard to jump in with these stocks making these all-time highs and now we're starting to get the market to roll over again a little bit. So I think it creates opportunities," the senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust told "Closing Bell."

"The fundamentals to me have not really changed," he added.

— CNBC's Fred Imbert and Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.