U.S. stocks close higher Friday, with the Nasdaq notching record close, despite a weaker-than-expected jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 39.46 points, or 0.18 percent, to 21,987.56. The S&P 500 added 4.90 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,476.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.67 points, or 0.10 percent, to 6,435.33.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in August, missing market expectations, and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

Investors have kept a close eye on the nonfarm payroll report, looking for clues for the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy move.

Expectations for tighter monetary policy in the United States have been dampened recently by soft inflation data. Market expectations for a rate hike in December are just 37.3 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Analysts said investors will now be looking to the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting for further clarification on the reduction of its balance sheet. The market has widely expected the U.S. central bank to start unwinding its balance sheet that amounts to around 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars this month.

Meanwhile, U.S. construction spending during July was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.21 trillion dollars, 0.6 percent below the revised June estimate, the Commerce Department said Friday. The July figure is 1.8 percent above the July 2016 estimate of 1.19 trillion dollars.