By Chibuike Oguh NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equity markets gained on Friday after traders cheered a Russian bond payment that averted a historic sovereign default, while gold prices dropped as demand for the safe-haven metal eased following the start of the U.S. interest rate hike cycle. The Russian finance ministry announced on Thursday that it had sent funds to cover $117 million in coupon payments on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds that came due this week. The payments calmed investor worries that a Russia sovereign default, which would have been its first in a century, could rattle…