Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain began a nervous wait for results in their fight for the White House last night, with Mr Obama in clear command as voting began to end in the first two US states.

Polls in parts of Indiana and Kentucky began to close at 6 p.m. EST/2300 GMT, with closing times spread over the next six hours in the other 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Long lines greeted voters in many battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, but no major breakdowns or irregularities were reported as at least 130 million Americans cast votes on a successor to unpopular Republican President George W. Bush.

Mr Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, would be the first black US President. Opinion polls indicate he is running ahead of Mr McCain in enough states to give him more than the 270 electoral votes he needs to win.

A victory for Mr McCain, 72, would make him the oldest President to begin a first term in the White House and make his running mate Sarah Palin the first female US Vice President.

Mr McCain's hopes for an upset rested on a tightening trend seen in some polls last week, or the possibility that all polls have overestimated Mr Obama's support.

The winner will face a crush of challenges over the next four years, including the economic crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a health-care overhaul and other issues.

Opinion polls showed Mr Obama ahead or even with Mr McCain in at least eight states won by Mr Bush in 2004, including the big prizes of Ohio and Florida. Mr Obama led comfortably in all of the states won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004.

Mr Obama victories in either Ohio or Florida, or in traditionally Republican states where polls show he is competitive like Virginia, Colorado, Indiana and North Carolina, would likely propel him to the White House.

World stocks rose to a two-week high and US stocks gained with major indices up more than two per cent, as investors looked with relief to the end of the campaign.

Analysts have said market prices probably already reflect expectations of an Obama victory. If Democrats expand their control of Congress, it may be easier for the new administration, which takes over in January, to deal with the financial crisis.

In Ohio, Ian Edwards said he voted for Mr Obama. "Very simple," said Edwards, the chief executive of a small technology company. "Bad war. Bad economy. Bad reputation overseas."

Cattleman Casey Bradshaw of Canyon, Texas, said he voted early for Mr McCain. "He's more experienced, and he's known to the people who make up this country," he said.

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