Billionaire investor Ken Fisher says markets slammed by at least 7 ‘scary stories’

Fisher Investments founder Ken Fisher weighed in on the current market volatility, arguing on Tuesday that investors "have a hard time getting their head around" all the "scary stories" hitting the economy simultaneously.

Fisher provided the insight on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" Tuesday as U.S. stocks traded lower with the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite down over 2% on fresh worries about a slowing economy.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	44782	-128.65	-0.29%
SP500	S&P 500	6047.15	+14.77	+0.24%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	19403.947849	+185.78	+0.97%

Even though his portfolio value decreased from the first quarter, Fisher told host Neil Cavuto that he is still hanging on to many of his big technology stocks that continue to drop. 

"In this market what I think is happening, not every day, but most of the time, when you have a big down day, tech goes down more than the market," he said. "When you have a big up day, yesterday aside, tech goes up more than the market."

RECORD GAS PRICES FOR THIS LONG ‘UNPRECEDENTED’: AAA

Fisher then argued that "once we get to the bottom, whenever that is, I think tech will bounce." 

"I think what goes down most in the downside will end up going up when it reverses and we move on to the next phase," he continued. 

Stocks have had some rough weeks in anticipation of and following the half-point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. It was the second of several anticipated increases this year as the central bank seeks to combat soaring inflation, which is at a high not seen in four decades.

The expectation now is that the Fed will take aggressive action to try and curb inflation, which remains near 40-year highs, according to the data for April released earlier this month, which has reduced investor appetite to hold assets perceived as higher risk.

"This is a period where I think it’s hard for people to understand what’s going on because we’re having something going on that we don’t normally have, which is, normally, in either a correction or the early phases of a bear market, there’s one or two big scary stories," Fisher told Cavuto. 

"This time, I can count seven scary stories happening all at once - and people have a hard time getting their head around all those at one time."

He noted that those "scary stories" include recession, interest rate and oil fears as the price of gas has been hitting records for the past two consecutive weeks. 

On Tuesday, the national average for a gallon of gas was $4.59, slightly higher than the day before and nearly 50 cents higher compared to the prior month, according to AAA. 

Tighter supply and increased demand have pushed gas prices higher, according to the association.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
USO	UNITED STATES OIL FUND - USD ACC	71.72	+0.11	+0.15%
BNO	UNITED STATES BRENT OIL FUND - USD ACC	28.96	+0.06	+0.21%

On Tuesday afternoon, Brent crude futures for July rose about 30 cents to $13 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for July delivery dropped slightly to about $110 a barrel.

Brent increased 0.7% on Monday while WTI settled nearly flat.

Fisher noted that COVID-19 lockdowns in China, as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine, are also weighing on investors who are trying to get their head around this confluence of issues.

"Is it a whole lot of bees stinging us that we got to run away from, or is this something that’s more potentially fatal?" he posited.

"It’s just hard for people to get their hands around it," he continued. "It’s what I call the pessimism of disbelief because whatever it is you say, they’ve got ‘yes-buts’ for."

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Fisher also noted that he doesn't expect the U.S. will experience a recession, but rather an economic slowdown. 

"I don’t think we’re going to see a terrible world," he told Cavuto. "I think we’re going to see a world that’s slow growth."

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