The Tokyo Stock Exchange Index has risen for the seventh consecutive day, reaching its highest level since July of last year, as consumer price data exceeded expectations and lifted bank stocks, while chip manufacturers climbed due to Micron Technology's strong quarterly sales forecast. After the Bank of Japan maintained the benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, the rising Japanese long-term Bond yields supported lending institutions. The Nikkei 225 Index has hit a five-year low relative to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index, partly due to the large weight of the financial sector in the benchmark average index. Hideyuki Suzuki, General Manager of SBI All Share Investment Banking &, stated, "The economy is recovering, there are no major upheavals, and wages are rising, so the outlook for interest rate hikes remains unchanged." Among the 1,692 components of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index, 774 rose, 864 fell, and 54 remained unchanged.