Stocks are at all-time highs (DJI, IXIC, SPY, ANN, ASNA)

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Stocks are higher but little changed, with the Dow and S&P 500 climbing to record highs after a brief pullback.

Near 11:35 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 17 points, the S&P 500 was up 4 points, and the Nasdaq was up 15 points.

The Dow climbed to as high as 18,290 points, passing its previous intraday record of 18,288.63. The S&P 500 climbed to 2,127, crossing its closing high of 2,122.73.

Following an early rally, stocks pulled back after data showed that homebuilder sentiment missed economists' expectations in May.

The National Association of Homebuilders' index came in at 54, below expectations for 57, and after a prior reading of 56.

The association noted that the index is still above the 50-point benchmark despite the drop.

The big news to start the week was a $2 billion merger between Ascena Retail Group and Ann Taylor.

Ascena is acquiring Ann Taylor for $47 per share in cash and stock, a 21% premium from Ann Taylor's closing price on Friday.

Ann Taylor was up by as much as 20% in early trading; Ascena rose by around 2%.

And Carl Icahn says Apple is worth $240 a share, in his latest open letter to CEO Tim Cook.

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