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European markets edged higher on Wednesday morning as investors tried to oust any nerves surrounding North Korea tensions and took advantage of the positive sentiment seen overseas.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.6 percent higher after hitting a six-month low in the previous session. Insurance and media stocks, which had been the worst performing sectors on Tuesday, were ahead of their peers in early deals, offsetting some of the previous losses.

Banking stocks were also higher on Wednesday morning supported by some upgrades in the sector. Swedbank rose 1.7 percent after JPMorgan upgraded its recommendation on the Swedish lender.

Looking at individual performances, RTL Group jumped to the top of the European benchmark, up by nearly 6 percent, after its first-half results. The broadcast group surprised analysts despite admitting a "challenging" advertising market. Insurer Baloise also rose about 5 percent in early trading on strong first-half figures.

Petrofac rose 2 percent though it cut its dividend by 42 percent as part of efforts to improve its balanced sheet.

Euro eases, consumer confidence figures due

The euro moved slightly lower against the dollar on Wednesday morning, trading at $1.19. The currency had broken above the $1.20 point on geopolitical concerns.

In the previous day's trade, markets worldwide became skittish on the back of news that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile over Japan, however U.S. markets finished in the black and Asia traded mostly higher on Wednesday as nerves abated.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a statement saying that "all options are on the table" when it comes to responding to North Korea's recent missile launch.

"The world has received North Korea's latest message loud and clear: this regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior," Trump said in a statement.

The U.S. incumbent went on to add that "threatening and destabilizing actions" would only increase the North Korean regime's isolation both in Asia and with the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, the wrath of Hurricane Harvey continues to be felt in markets worldwide, with oil prices under pressure in morning trade as flooding and storm damage continues to have an impact on U.S. refineries.

At 8.20 a.m. London time Brent traded around $51.98 a barrel, while U.S. crude last stood around $46.30.

Looking to data, U.K. consumer credit figures, euro zone sentiment and preliminary inflation data for Germany are all due out during market trade.