Investors in U.S.-based mutual funds pulled over $3 billion out of stock funds in the week ended Nov. 19 on global growth concerns, data from the Investment Company Institute showed on Wednesday.

The outflows were the biggest in five weeks and came after inflows of $1.5 billion the prior week, data from ICI, a U.S. mutual fund trade organization, showed. Investors withdrew $3.6 billion from U.S.-focused stock funds, while funds that mainly hold international stocks attracted a modest $597 million.

Safer bond funds attracted $2.2 billion in new cash, marking their third straight week of new demand but down from the prior two weeks' inflows.

Hybrid funds, which can invest in stocks and fixed income securities, attracted just $90 million in new cash. Those inflows were down from $963 million in inflows the prior week, which were the most since early September.

"People in the U.S. are concerned that the lack of growth elsewhere could affect U.S. growth," said Wayne Lin, portfolio manager at QS Investors in New York. He cited weak economic data out of China and the euro zone over the period.

Lin also said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement on Nov. 18 of a delay in a planned rise in the nation's sales tax was a sign that his economic policy may not be working. Data over the reporting period showed Japan's economy slipped into a recession in the third quarter.

The benchmark S&P 500 stock index rose a modest 0.5 percent over the reporting period. The benchmark Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was slightly lower over the period.