* TSX ends up 0.3%, at 20,937.55
* For the week, the index was down 0.1%
* Energy rallies 0.6%; oil settles 2.2% higher
* Heavily weighted financials add 0.5%
Jan 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main index rose on Friday, ending the first week of 2024 on a positive note, as investors shifted into sectors, such as energy and financials, offering cheaper valuations and took in stride disappointing domestic jobs data.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended up 66.2 points, or 0.3%, at 20,937.55. For the week, it was down 0.1%, as some of the optimism that had fueled markets in the final two months of 2023 ebbed.
The trend at the start of the year has been for investors to reduce their exposure to some high-flying sectors, such as technology, and move to sectors that appear to offer more value, said Elvis Picardo, a portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth.
"You are seeing financials attract a bid ... energy is stabilizing. So it is quite likely you are seeing some element of sector rotation going on to kick off 2024," Picardo said.
Canada's economy added barely any jobs in December, data showed.
"Investors were braced for some kind of slowdown in Canada, so it doesn't change the narrative much," Picardo said. "The bigger issue at play was what happens south of the border."
U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December while raising wages at a solid clip, casting some doubt on financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates in March.
The Toronto market's energy sector rallied 0.6% as the price of oil settled 2.2% higher at $73.81 a barrel on rising Middle East tensions.
Financials, the TSX's most heavily weighted sector, added 0.5% and healthcare was up 1.4%, led by Bausch Health Companies .
Its shares rose to a near three-month high after notching a gain of 5.3%. (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Jonathan Oatis)
