Wall Street advanced for a third straight day on Friday, giving the S&P 500 its best weekly performance since early February, but volume remained light as global uncertainty persisted.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 50.03 points, or 0.41 percent, to end unofficially at 12,220.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 4.14 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,313.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 6.64 points, or 0.24 percent, to close unofficially at 2,743.06.

For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.7 percent. The Dow finished the week with a 3.1 percent gain, while the Nasdaq climbed 3.8 percent.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)