Japanese shares pulled back on Monday from a near six-week high hit in the previous session, as caution set in before corporate earnings results that are likely to reveal the damage wrought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Nikkei index settled down 1.15% at 19,669.12, led by declines in the consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors. On the Nikkei index, there were 71 advancers on the Nikkei index against 152 decliners.

The largest percentage losers in the index were telecom infrastructure provider Comsys Holdings Corp, down 4.17%, followed by Chugai Pharmaceutical, losing 3.88%, and rival drugs maker Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, down by 3.87%.

The largest percentage gainers in the index were semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Screen Holdings Co Ltd, up 4.89%, followed by digital imaging and printing company Konica Minolta Inc, gaining 3.87%, and Taiheiyo Cement Corp, up by 3.52%.

The broader Topix index fell 0.7% to 1,432.41. The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 1.07 billion, compared to the average of 2.02 billion in the past 30 days.

Companies linked to consumer spending took a hit as Japanese officials encourage more people to stay at home to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. The healthcare sector initially got a boost as companies raced to test medicines to deal with the pandemic, before giving up some of these gains as nervous investors started to lock in profits.

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co and electronics maker Omron Corp will release their earnings on Thursday, while semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest Corp and industrial robot maker Fanuc Corp will post their results on Friday.