Investors in U.S.-based mutual funds put $2.94 billion in stock funds in the latest week, but demand was for stocks outside the U.S. even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs, data from the Investment Company Institute showed on Wednesday.

Funds that hold U.S. stocks suffered outflows of $578 million in the week ended March 6, said ICI, a U.S. mutual fund trade organization. That marked the second straight week of outflows after the funds redeemed $1.13 billion the prior week.

Funds that hold stocks outside the U.S., meanwhile, had estimated inflows of $3.52 billion over the weekly reporting period, the most in three weeks.

The outflows from domestic-focused stock funds came despite the Dow's record closing high of 14,253.77 points on March 5, surpassed a day later. Loose policies of monetary easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve and signs of growth in the U.S. economy contributed to the rise.