Germany's DAX stock index took a bruising as European equities fell to more-than-six-month lows after North Korea's missile launch over Japan jangled investors nerves and the euro rose. The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -1.04% dropped 1% to end at 368.42, its lowest close since mid-February, FactSet data showed.

U.S. stock benchmarks on Tuesday staged a recovery from heavy selling earlier in the session that came after a North Korean missile test over Japanese airspace rattled investors and sent Wall Street trawling for assets perceived as safe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.26% rose 56.97 points, or 0.3%, to close at 21,865.37. Blue chips had been off by as much as 135 points, or 0.6%, at its session low.

Asia-Pacific stocks rebounded Wednesday after selling off a day earlier following North Korea's latest missile launch, as equities in the U.S. recovered as well. The return to risk assets came despite a stern response from President Donald Trump. His insistence that all options are on table "should have escalated the risk-off" sentiment seen Tuesday, said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager at State Street.