U.S. stocks notched solid gains for the week, with the Nasdaq posting its biggest one-week gain of the year, as investors mainly focused on economic data.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow rose 0.80 percent, and the broader S&P 500 was up 1.37 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 2.71 percent.

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.

"The Fed's case for a rate hike was severely undermined today, even if it is not immediately evident in yields. That may be because the next rate decision is still 3.5 months in the future. There will be plenty more data to digest between now and then," said Chris Low, chief economist of FTN Financial, on Friday.

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.

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.

In the week ending Aug. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 236,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 236,750, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average, according to the department.

Personal income increased 65.6 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.4 percent in July, higher than market expectation, according to estimates released by the Commerce Department.

The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, edged up 0.1 percent in July, said the Commerce Department.

The year-on-year rate declined to 1.4 percent in July from 1.5 percent in June, well under the U.S. central bank's 2 percent target.

U.S. private sector employment increased by 237,000 jobs in August, well above the market consensus of 185,000, according to ADP National Employment Report released earlier this week.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3 percent in the second quarter of 2017, according to the second estimate released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 122.9 in August, up from 120.0 in July, according to the Conference Board, beating market expectations.

Meanwhile, investors kept an eye on the energy sector as Hurricane Harvey shuts down more than 20 percent U.S. refinery capacity, ripping through the heart of the oil industry.

Now tropical storm Harvey has ravaged Houston, home to several of the major U.S. refineries, and other parts of Texas.

Refineries were forced to shut operation in severe weather.

"The relative weakness in WTI is understandable given that pipeline closures are backing U.S. crude up in the Midland though the selloff in Brent appears to be more of a knee-jerk reaction to refineries shutting," Sam Alderson, an analyst of Energy Aspects, told Xinhua Wednesday.

Analysts said Harvey has had tragic effects on Texas and further heavy rain and floods could increase refining outrages, tightening product and crude markets.

"We believe the extent of Harvey's impact on refining will evolve in the coming weeks with risk of higher or extended outrages," said Benny Wong, an equity analyst of Morgan Stanley.

Investors also assessed the impact of the missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) this week.

The DPRK fired a missile early Tuesday and the missile fell into the Pacific Ocean off Hokkaido after passing over the Japanese archipelago, said the Japanese government.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that the launch is "threatening and destabilizing," adding "all options are on the table."

Tensions between the United States and the DPRK had risen earlier this month after Trump said the DPRK would face "fire and fury" if it continued to threaten the United States.