SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures maintained their recent upward momentum in early trade on Thursday, building on Wednesday's advance to eight-month highs on the back of expectations that lower South American supplies will lift demand for U.S. soybeans.

Corn futures also gained slightly, recovering some of the losses incurred in the previous session, while wheat was largely steady.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract was 0.087% up at $15.46-1/4 a bushel, as of 01:33 GMT. Most active wheat was up 0.17% at $7.56 a bushel. Corn was up 0.2% at $6.23-3/4 a bushel.

* Global markets continue to closely track the Ukraine, Russia situation after Russia denied plans to invade Ukraine but signalled it was in no mood for compromise on Wednesday by accusing British politicians of "stupidity and ignorance".

* The United States will send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from a potential spillover from the crisis over the massing of Russian troops near Ukraine, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

* Global grain flows could be affected by any military conflict in Ukraine or resulting sanctions imposition on Russia given the Black Sea's status as a key wheat export hub.

* India plans to buy 1 million tonnes of potash from Belarus in the first such bilateral deal between the two countries after sanctions crippled Minsk's ability to sell the crop nutrient, two Indian officials involved in the discussions told Reuters.

* Ukraine has exported 38.6 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2021/22 July-June season, up 31.6% from the same stage a season earlier, agriculture ministry data showed on Wednesday.

* JBS SA agreed to pay $52.5 million to settle litigation accusing meat-packing companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $63 billion-a-year U.S. beef market in order to inflate prices and boost profit.

* Grain traders remember 2021 beginning with a historic rally in Chicago corn and soybean futures, but that upswing may already be forgotten because 2022 has had a more explosive start.

MARKET NEWS

* All three Wall Street benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday, rising for a fourth straight session after a turbulent start to the year, aided by upbeat earnings from Google-parent Alphabet and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices. Several key Asian markets are closed for the Lunar new year holiday.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0850 France Markit Serv PMI Jan

0850 France Markit Comp PMI Jan

0855 Germany Markit Serv PMI Jan

0855 Germany Markit Comp Final PMI Jan

0900 EU Markit Serv Final PMI Jan

0900 EU Markit Comp Final PMI Jan

0930 UK Reserve Assets Total Jan

1200 UK BOE Bank Rate Feb

1200 UK GB BOE QE Corp Feb

1245 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Feb

1245 EU ECB Deposit Rate Feb

1330 US Initial Jobless Claims Jan

1445 US Markit Comp Final PMI Jan

1445 US Markit Svcs PMI Final Jan

1500 US Factory Orders MM Dec

1500 US ISM N-Mfg PMI Jan

(Reporting by Gavin Maguire; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)